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FRANK R. STOCKTON 
Volume XIII 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 
MRS. LECKS AND MRS. 
ALESHINE y THE VIZIER 
OF THE TWO-HORNED 
ALEXANDER ' y f ip 








THE NOVELS AND STORIES OE 
FRANK R. STOCKTON 

THE CASTING IWAY OF 
MRS. LECKS AND MRS. 
ALESHINE ¥ THE VIZIER 
OF THE TWO-HORNED 
ALEXANDER ¥ ¥ ¥ 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 
1900 


47564 


•Library of Cong res 


Two Copies Receiveo 


SEP 15 1900 

Copyright entry 

Se/>. S ~,9fox> 

FIRST copy. 

2nd Copy Delivered to 

ORDER DIVISION 

SEP 19 mil: 


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Copyright, 1886, 1892, 1898, 1899, by The Century Co. ; 
1900, by Charles Scribner’s Sons 


THE DEVINNE PRESS. 


1 3 - I L f °! 'b‘3 


CONTENTS 


THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS AND 
MRS. ALESHINE 

THE VIZIER OF THE TWO-HORNED ALEX- 
ANDER 


PAGE 

3 

209 


Y 



THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS 
AND MRS. ALESHINE 



THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS 
AND MRS. ALESHINE 


PART I 

I "WAS on my way from San Francisco to Yokohama 
when, in a very desultory and gradual manner, I be- 
came acquainted with Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 
The steamer on which I was making a moderately 
rapid passage toward the land of the legended fan and 
the lacquered box carried a fair complement of pas- 
sengers, most of whom were Americans ; and, among 
these, my attention was attracted, from the first day 
of the voyage, to two middle-aged women who ap- 
peared to me very unlike the ordinary traveller or 
tourist. At first sight they might have been taken 
for farmers 7 wives who, for some unusual reason, had 
determined to make a voyage across the Pacific, but 
on closer observation one would have been more apt 
to suppose that they belonged to the families of pros- 
perous tradesmen in some little country town, where, 
besides the arts of rural housewifery, there would be 
opportunities of becoming acquainted in some degree 
with the ways and manners of the outside world. 
They were not of that order of persons who generally 
take first-class passages on steamships, but the state- 

3 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


room occupied by Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine was 
one of the best in the vessel, and although they kept 
very much to themselves, and showed no desire for 
the company or notice of the other passengers, they 
evidently considered themselves quite as good as any 
one else, and with as much right to voyage to any 
part of the world in any manner or style which pleased 
them. 

Mrs. Leeks was a rather tall woman, large-boned 
and muscular, and her well -browned countenance gave 
indications of that conviction of superiority which 
gradually grows up in the minds of those who, for a 
long time, have had absolute control of the destinies of 
a state, or the multifarious affairs of a country house- 
hold. Mrs. Aleshine was somewhat younger than her 
friend, somewhat shorter, and a great deal fatter. 
She had the same air of reliance upon her individual 
worth that characterized Mrs. Leeks, but there was a 
certain geniality about her which indicated that she 
would have a good deal of forbearance for those who 
never had had the opportunity or the ability of be- 
coming the thoroughly good housewife which she was 
herself. 

These two worthy dames spent the greater part of 
their time on deck, where they always sat together in 
a place near the stern of the vessel which was well 
sheltered from the wind. As they sat thus they 
were generally employed in knitting, although this 
occupation did not prevent them from keeping up 
what seemed to me, as I passed them in my walks 
about the deck, a continuous conversation. From a 
question which Mrs. Leeks once asked me about a 
distant sail, our acquaintance began. There was no 

4 , 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


one on board for whose society I cared particularly, 
and as there was something quaint and odd about 
these countrywomen on the ocean which interested 
me, I was glad to vary my solitary promenades by an 
occasional chat with them. They were not at all 
backward in giving me information about themselves. 
They were both widows, and Mrs. Aleshine was going 
out to Japan to visit a son who had a position there 
in a mercantile house. Mrs. Leeks had no children, 
and was accompanying her friend because, as she said, 
she would not allow Mrs. Aleshine to make such a 
voyage as that by herself, and because, being quite 
able to do so, she did not know why she should not 
see the world as well as other people. 

These two friends were not educated women. They 
made frequent mistakes in their grammar, and a good 
deal of Middle States provincialism showed itself in 
their pronunciation and expressions. But, although 
they brought many of their rural ideas to sea with 
them, they possessed a large share of that common 
sense which is available anywhere, and they fre- 
quently made use of it in a manner which was very 
amusing to me. I think, also, that they found in me 
a quarry of information concerning nautical matters, 
foreign countries, and my own affairs, the working of 
which helped to make us very good ship friends. 

Our steamer touched at the Sandwich Islands, and 
it was a little more than two days after we left Hono- 
lulu that, about nine o’clock in the evening, we had 
the misfortune to come into collision with an eastern- 
bound vessel. The fault was entirely due to the other 
ship, the lookout on which, although the night was 
rather dark and foggy, could easily have seen our 
5 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


lights in time to avoid collision if he had not been 
asleep or absent from his post. Be this as it may, the 
vessel, which appeared to be a small steamer, struck 
us with great force near our bows, and then, backing, 
disappeared into the fog, and we never saw or heard 
of her again. The general opinion was that she was 
injured very much more than we were, and that she 
probably sank not very long after the accident, for 
when the fog cleared away, about an hour afterwards, 
nothing could be seen of her lights. 

As usually happens on occasions of accidents at 
sea, the damage to our vessel was at first reported to 
be slight ; but it was soon discovered that our injuries 
were serious and, indeed, disastrous. The hull of our 
steamer had been badly shattered on the port bow, 
and the water came in at a most alarming rate. For 
nearly two hours the crew and many of the passengers 
worked at the pumps, and everything possible was 
done to stop the enormous leak. But all labor to save 
the vessel was found to be utterly unavailing, and alittle 
before midnight the captain announced that it would 
be impossible to keep the steamer afloat, and that we 
must all take to the boats. The night was now clear, 
the stars were bright, and as there was but little wind, 
the sea was comparatively smooth. With all these 
advantages, the captain assured us that there was no 
reason to apprehend danger, and he thought that by 
noon of the following day we could easily make a 
small inhabited island, where we could be sheltered 
and cared for until we should be taken off by some 
passing vessel. 

There was plenty of time for all necessary prepa- 
rations, and these were made with much order and 

6 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


subordination. Some of the ladies among the cabin 
passengers were greatly frightened, and inclined to be 
hysterical. There were pale faces also among the gen- 
tlemen. But everybody obeyed the captain’s orders, 
and all prepared themselves for the transfer to the 
boats. The first officer came among us and told each 
of us what boats we were to take, and where we were 
to place ourselves on deck. I was assigned to a large 
boat which was to be principally occupied by steerage 
passengers, and as I came up from my state-room, 
where I had gone to secure my money and some port- 
able valuables, I met on the companionway Mrs. Leeks 
and Mrs. Aleshine, who expressed considerable dis- 
satisfaction when they found that I was not going in 
the boat with them. They, however, hurried below, 
and I went on deck, where in about ten minutes I was 
joined by Mrs. Leeks, who apparently had been look- 
ing for me. She told me she had something very par- 
ticular to say to me, and conducted me toward the 
stern of the vessel, where, behind one of the deck- 
houses, we found Mrs. Aleshine. 

“Look here,” said Mrs. Leeks, leading me to the 
rail, and pointing downward. “Do you see that boat 
there? It has been let down, and there’s nobody in 
it. The boat on the other side has just gone off, full 
to the brim. I never saw so many people crowded 
into one boat. The other ones will be just as packed, I 
expect. I don’t see why we shouldn’t take this empty 
boat, now we’ve got a chance, instead of squeezin’ 
ourselves into those crowded ones. If any of the other 
people come afterwards, why, we shall have our choice 
of seats, and that’s considerable of a p’int, I should say, 
in a time like this.” 


7 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“ That’s so,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “and me and Mrs. 
Leeks would have got right in when we saw the boat 
was empty, if we hadn’t been afraid to be there with- 
out any man, for it might have floated off, and neither 
of us don’t know nothin’ about rowin’. And then Mrs. 
Leeks she thought of you, supposin’ a young man who 
knew so much about the sea would know how to 
row.” 

“Oh, yes,” said I. “But I cannot imagine why this 
boat should have been left empty. I see a keg of 
water in it, and the oars, and some tin cans, and so I 
suppose it has been made ready for somebody. W ill 
you wait here a minute until I run forward and see 
how things are going on there ? ” 

Amidships and forward I saw that there was some 
confusion among the people who were not yet in their 
boats, and I found that there was to be rather more 
crowding than at first was expected. People who had 
supposed that they were to go in a certain boat found 
there no place, and were hurrying to other boats. It 
now became plain to me that no time should be lost 
in getting into the small boat which Mrs. Leeks had 
pointed out, and which was probably reserved for some 
favored persons, as the officers were keeping the people 
forward and amidships, the other stern-boat having 
already departed. But as I acknowledged no reason 
why any one should be regarded with more favor than 
myself and the two women who were waiting for me, 
I slipped quietly aft, and joined Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine. 

“We must get in as soon as we can,” said I, in a low 
voice, “for this boat may be discovered, and then there 
will be a rush for it. I suspect it may have been re- 

8 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


served for the captain and some of the officers, hut we 
have as much right in it as they.” 

“And more, too,” replied Mrs. Leeks, “for we had 
nothin’ to do with the steerin’ and smashin’.” 

“But how are we goin’ to get down there?” said 
Mrs. Aleshine. “There’s no steps.” 

“That is true,” said I. “I shouldn’t wonder if this 
boat is to be taken forward when the others are filled. 
We must scramble down as well as we can by the 
tackle at the bow and stern. I’ll get in first and keep 
her close to the ship’s side.” 

“That’s goin’ to be a scratchy business,” said Mrs. 
Leeks, “and I’m of the opinion we ought to wait till 
the ship has sunk a little more, so that we’ll be nearer 
to the boat.” 

“It won’t do to wait,” said I, “or we shall not get in 
it at all.” 

“And goodness gracious ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, 
“I can’t stand here and feel the ship sinkin’ cold- 
blooded under me till we’ve got where we can make 
an easy jump ! ” 

“Very well, then,” said Mrs. Leeks, “we won’t wait. 
But the first thing to be done is for each one of us to 
put on one of these life-preservers. Two of ’em I 
brought from Mrs. Aleshine’s and my cabin, and the 
other one I got next door, where the people had gone 
off and left it on the floor. I thought if anything hap- 
pened on the way to the island, these would give us a 
chance to look about us. But it seems to me we’ll 
need ’em more gettin’ down them ropes than any- 
where else. I did intend puttin’ on two myself to 
make up for Mrs. Aleshine’s fat, but you must wear one 
of ’em, sir, now that you are goin’ to join the party.” 

9 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


As I knew that two life-preservers would not be 
needed by Mrs. Leeks, and would greatly incon- 
venience her, I accepted the one offered me, but de- 
clined to put it on until it should be necessary, as it 
would interfere with my movements. 

“Very well,” said Mrs. Leeks, “if you think we’re 
safe in gettin’ down without ’em. It seems as if we 
ought to put ours on before we begin sailor-scramblin’, 
but you know best. We know how to do it, for we 
tried ’em on soon after we started from San Francisco. 
And now, Barb’ry Aleshine, are you sure you’ve got 
everything you want? It’ll be no use thinkin’ about 
anything you’ve forgot after the ship has sunk out of 
sight.” 

“There’s nothin’ else I can think of,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “at least, nothin’ I can carry, and so I suppose 
we may as well begin, for your talk of the ship sinkin’ 
under our feet gives me a sort o’ feelin’ like an oyster 
creepin’ up and down my back.” 

Mrs. Leeks looked over the side at the boat, into 
which I had already descended. “I’ll go first, Barb’ry 
Aleshine,” said she, “and show you how.” 

The sea was quiet, and the steamer had already 
sunk so much that Mrs. Lecks’s voice sounded fright- 
fully near me, although she spoke in a low tone. 

“Watch me,” said she to her companion. “I’m 
goin’ to do just as he did, and you must follow in the 
same way.” 

So saying, she stepped on a bench by the rail, then, 
with one foot on the rail itself, she seized the ropes 
which hung from one of the davits to the bow of the 
boat. She looked down for a moment, and then she 
drew back. 


10 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


“It’s no use/’ she said. “We must wait until sht 
sinks more, and I can get in easier.” 

This remark made me feel nervous. I did not know 
at what moment there might be a rush for this boat, 
nor when, indeed, the steamer might go down. The 
boat amidships on our side had rowed away some min- 
utes before, and through the darkness I could distin- 
guish another boat, near the bows, pushing off. It 
would be too late now for us to try to get into any 
other boat, and I did not feel that there was time 
enough for me to take this one to a place where the 
two women could more easily descend to her. Stand- 
ing upright, I urged them not to delay. 

“You see,” said I, “I can reach you as soon as you 
swing yourself off the ropes, and I’ll help you down.” 

“If you’re sure you can keep us from cornin’ down 
too sudden, we’ll try it,” said Mrs. Leeks. “But I’d 
as soon be drowned as to get to an island with a bro- 
ken leg. And as to Mrs. Aleshine, if she was to slip 
she’d go slam through that boat to the bottom of the 
sea. How, then, be ready ! I’m cornin’ down.” 

So saying, she swung herself off, and she was then 
so near me that I was able to seize her and make the 
rest of her descent comparatively easy. Mrs. Aleshine 
proved to be a more difficult subject. Even after I 
had a firm grasp of her capacious waist she refused to 
let go the ropes, for fear that she might drop into the 
ocean instead of the boat. But the reproaches of Mrs. 
Leeks and my own downward weight made her loosen 
her nervous grip $ and although we came very near 
going overboard together, I safely placed her on one 
of the thwarts. 

I now unhooked the tackle from the stern. But 
11 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


before casting off at the bow I hesitated, for I did not 
wish to desert any of those who might be expecting 
to embark in this boat. But I could hear no ap- 
proaching footsteps, and, from my position close to the 
side of the steamer, I could see nothing. Therefore I 
cast off, and taking the oars, I pushed away and rowed 
to a little distance, where I could get whatever view 
was possible of the deck of the steamer. Seeing no 
forms moving about, I called out, and receiving no 
answer, I shouted again at the top of my voice. I 
waited for nearly a minute, and hearing nothing and 
seeing nothing, I became convinced that no one was 
left on the vessel. 

“They are all gone,” said I, “and we will pull after 
them as fast as we can.” 

Then I began to row toward the bow of the steamer, 
in the direction which the other boats had taken. 

“It’s a good thing you can row,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
settling herself comfortably in the stern-sheets, “for 
what Mrs. Aleshine and me would have done with 
them oars I am sure I don’t know.” 

“I’d never have got into this boat,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “if Mr. Craig hadn’t been here.” 

“No, indeed,” replied her friend. “You’d have gone 
to the bottom, hangin’ for dear life to them ropes.” 

When I had rounded the bow of the steamer, which 
appeared to me to be rapidly settling in the water, I 
perceived at no great distance several lights, which, of 
course, belonged to the other boats, and I rowed as 
hard as I could, hoping to catch up with them, or at 
least to keep sufficiently near. It might be my duty 
to take off some of the people who had crowded into 
the other boats, probably supposing that this one had 
12 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


Been loaded and gone. How such a mistake could 
have taken place I could not divine, and it was not 
my business to do so. Quite certain that no one was 
left on the sinking steamer, all I had to do was to row 
after the other boats, and to overtake them as soon as 
possible. I thought it would not take me very long 
to do this, but after rowing for half an hour, Mrs. Ale- 
shine remarked that the lights seemed as far off, if not 
farther, than when we first started after them. Turn- 
ing, I saw that this was the case, and was greatly sur- 
prised. W ith only two passengers I ought soon to have 
come up with those heavily laden boats. But after I 
had thought it over a little, I considered that as each 
of them was probably pulled by half a dozen stout 
sailors, it was not so very strange that they should 
make as good or better headway than I did. 

Hot very long after this Mrs. Leeks said that she 
thought the lights on the other boats must be going 
out, and that this, most probably, was due to the 
fact that the sailors had forgotten to fill their lan- 
terns before they started. “That sort of thing often 
happens,” she said, “when people leave a place in a 
hurry.” 

But when I turned around and peered over the 
dark waters, it was quite plain to me that it was not 
want of oil, but increased distance, which made those 
lights so dim. I could now perceive but three of 
them, and as the surface was agitated only by a gentle 
swell, I could not suppose that any of them were 
hidden from our view by waves. We were being left 
behind, that was certain, and all I could do was to 
row on as long and as well as I could in the direction 
which the other boats had taken. I had been used to 
13 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


rowing, and thought I pulled a good oar, and I cer- 
tainly had not expected to be left behind in this way. 

“I don’t believe this boat has been emptied out since 
the last rain,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “for my feet are 
wet, though I didn’t notice it before.” 

At this I shipped my oars, and began to examine 
the boat. The bottom was covered with a movable 
floor of slats, and as I put my hand down I could feel 
the water welling up between the slats. The flooring 
was in sections, and lifting the one beneath me, I felt 
under it, and put my hand into six or eight inches of 
water. 

The exact state of the case was now as plain to me 
as if it had been posted up on a bulletin-board. This 
boat had been found to be unseaworthy, and its use 
had been forbidden, all the people having been 
crowded into the others. This had caused confusion 
at the last moment, and, of course, we were supposed 
to be on some one of the other boats. 

And now here was I, in the middle of the Pacific 
Ocean, in a leaky boat, with two middle-aged women ! 

“ Anything the matter with the floor?” asked Mrs. 
Leeks. 

I let the section fall back into its place, and looked 
aft. By the starlight I could see that my two com- 
panions had each fixed upon me a steadfast gaze. 
They evidently felt that something was the matter, 
and wanted to know what it was. I did not hesitate 
for a moment to inform them. They appeared to me 
to be women whom it would be neither advisable nor 
possible to deceive in a case like this. 

“This boat has a leak in it,” I said. “ There is a lot 
14 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


of water in her already, and that is the reason we 
have got along so slowly.” 

“And that is why,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “it was left 
empty. We ought to have known better than to ex- 
pect to have a whole boat just for three of us. It 
would have been much more sensible, I think, if we 
had tried to squeeze into one of the others.” 

“Now, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, “don’t 
you begin findin’ fault with good fortune when it 
comes to you. Here we’ve got a comfortable boat, 
with room enough to set easy and stretch out if we 
want to. If the water is cornin’ in, what we’ve got to 
do is to get it out again just as fast as we can. What’s 
the best way to do that, Mr. Craig? ” 

“We must bail her out, and lose no time about it,” 
said I. “If I can find the leak I may be able to 
stop it.” 

I now looked about for something to bail with, and 
the two women aided actively in the search. I found 
one leather scoop in the bow, but as it was well that 
we should all go to work, I took two tin cans that had 
been put in by some one who had begun to provision 
the boat, and proceeded to cut the tops from them 
with my jack-knife. 

“Don’t lose what’s in ’em,” said Mrs. Leeks, “that 
is, if it’s anything we’d be likely to want to eat. If it’s 
tomatoes, pour it into the sea, for nobody ought to eat 
tomatoes put up in tins.” 

I hastily passed the cans to Mrs. Leeks, and I saw 
her empty the contents of one into the sea, and those 
of the other on a newspaper which she took from her 
pocket and placed in the stern. 

15 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


I pulled up the movable floor and threw it over- 
board, and then began to bail. 

“I thought / 7 said Mrs. Aleshine, “that they always 
had pumps for leaks . 77 

“Now, Barb’ry Aleshine , 77 said Mrs. Leeks, “just 
gether yourself up on one of them seats, and go to 
work. The less talkin’ we do, and the more scoopin’, 
the better it’ll be for us.” 

I soon perceived that it would have been difficult 
to find two more valuable assistants in the bailing of 
a boat than Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. They were 
evidently used to work, and were able to accommodate 
themselves to the unusual circumstances in which they 
were placed. We threw out the water very rapidly, 
and every little while I stopped bailing and felt about 
to see if I could discover where it came in. As these 
attempts met with no success, I gave them up after a 
time, and set about bailing with new vigor, believing 
that if we could get the boat nearly dry I should surely 
be able to find the leak. 

But after working half an hour more I found that 
the job would be a long one, and if we all worked at 
once we would all be tired out at once, and that might 
be disastrous. Therefore I proposed that we should 
take turns in resting, and Mrs. Aleshine was ordered 
to stop work for a time. After this Mrs. Leeks took 
a rest, and when she went to work I stopped bailing 
and began again to search for the leak. 

For about two hours we worked in this way, and 
then I concluded it was useless to continue any longer 
this vain exertion. With three of us bailing we were 
able to keep the water at the level we first found it, 
but with only two at work it slightly gained upon us, 
16 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


so that now there was more water in the boat than 
when we first discovered it. The boat was an iron 
one, and the leak in it I could neither find nor remedy. 
It had probably been caused by the warping of the 
metal under a hot sun, an accident which, I am told, 
frequently occurs to iron boats. The little craft, which 
would have been a life-boat had its air-boxes remained 
intact, was probably leaking from stem to stern, and 
in searching for the leak without the protection 
of the flooring, my weight had doubtless assisted in 
opening the seams, for it was quite plain that the 
water was now coming in more rapidly than it did at 
first. We were very tired, and even Mrs. Leeks, who 
had all along counselled us to keep at work, and not to 
waste one breath in talking, now admitted that it was 
of no use to try to get the water out of the boat. 

It had been some hours since I had used the oars, 
but whether we had drifted, or remained where we 
were when I stopped rowing, of course I could not 
know. But this mattered very little. Our boat was 
slowly sinking beneath us, and it could make no dif- 
ference whether we went down in one spot or another. 
I sat and racked my brain to think what could be done 
in this fearful emergency. To bail any longer was 
useless labor, and what else was there that we could do ? 

“When will it be time,” asked Mrs. Leeks, “for us 
to put on the life-preservers? When the water gets 
nearly to the seats ? ” 

I answered that we should not wait any longer than 
that, but in my own mind I could not see any advan- 
tage in putting them on at all. Why should we wish 
to lengthen our lives by a few hours of helpless float- 
ing upon the ocean? 


17 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“Very good/’ said Mrs. Leeks ; “HI keep a watch on 
the water. One of them cans was filled with lobster, 
which would be more than likely to disagree with us, 
and I’ve throwed it out. But the other had baked 
beans in it, and the best thing we can do is to eat some 
of these right away. They are mighty nourishing and 
will keep up strength as well as anything, and then, 
as you said there’s a keg of water in the boat, we can 
all take a drink of that, and it’ll make us feel like new 
creatur’s. Y ou’ll have to take the beans in your hands, 
for we’ve got no spoons nor forks.” 

Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine were each curled up 
out of reach of the water, the first in the stern, and 
the other on the aft thwart. The day was now begin- 
ning to break, and we could see about us very dis- 
tinctly. Before reaching out her hands to receive her 
beans, Mrs. Aleshine washed them in the water in the 
boat, remarking at the same time that she might as 
well make use of it since it was there. Having then 
wiped her hands on some part of her apparel, they 
were filled with beans from the newspaper which 
Mrs. Leeks handed to me. I was very hungry, and 
when I had finished my beans I agreed with my 
companions that, although they would have been a 
great deal better if heated with butter, pepper, 
and salt, they were very comforting as they were. 
One of the empty cans was now passed to me, and 
after having been asked by Mrs. Leeks to rinse it 
out very carefully, we all satisfied our thirst from the 
water in the keg. 

“Cold baked beans and lukewarm water ain’t ex- 
actly company vittles,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “but 
there’s many a poor wretch would be glad to get ’em.” 

18 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

I could not imagine any poor wretch who would be 
glad of the food together with the attending circum- 
stances ; but I did not say so. 

“The water is just one finger from the bottom of the 
seat,” said Mrs. Leeks, who had been stooping over to 
measure, “and it’s time to put on the life-preservers.” 

“Very good,” said Mrs. Aleshine ; “hand me mine.” 

Each of us now buckled on a life-preserver, and as 
I did so I stood up upon a thwart and looked about 
me. It was quite light now, and I could see for a long 
distance over the surface of the ocean, which was 
gently rolling in wide, smooth swells. As we rose 
upon the summit of one of these I saw a dark spot 
upon the water, just on the edge of our horizon. “Is 
that the steamer?” I thought, “and has she not yet 
sunk ? ” 

At this there came to me a glimmering of coura- 
geous hope. If the steamer had remained afloat so 
long, it was probable that, on account of water-tight 
compartments or for some other reason, her sinking 
had reached its limit, and that if we could get back to 
her we might be saved. But, alas ! how were we to get 
back to her? The boat would sink long, long before 
I could row that distance. 

However, I soon proclaimed the news to my com- 
panions, whereupon Mrs. Aleshine prepared to stand 
upon a thwart and see for herself. But Mrs. Leeks 
restrained her. 

“Don’t make things worse, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said 
she, “by tumblin’ overboard. If we’ve got to go into 
the water, let us do it decently and in order. If that’s 
the ship, Mr. Craig, don’t you suppose we can float 
ourselves to it in some way?” 

19 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


I replied that by the help of a life-preserver a per- 
son who could swim might reach the ship. 

“But neither of us can swim/’ said Mrs. Leeks, “for 
we’ve lived where the water was never more’n a foot 
deep, except in time of freshets, when there’s no swim- 
min’ for man or beast. But if we see you swim, per- 
haps we can follow, after a fashion. At any rate, we 
must do the best we can, and that’s all there is to be 
done.” 

“The water now,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine, “is so 
near to the bottom of my seat that I’ve got to stand 
up, tumble overboard or not.” 

“All right,” remarked Mrs. Leeks ; “we’d better all 
stand up, and let the boat sink under us. That will 
save our jumpin’ overboard, or rollin’ out any which 
way, which might be awkward.” 

“Goodness gracious me ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine. 
“You set the oysters creepin’ over me again ! First 
you talk of the ship sinkin’ under us, and now it’s the 
boat goin’ to the bottom under our feet. Before any 
sinkin’ ’s to be done I’d ruther get out.” 

“Now, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, “stand 
up straight, and don’t talk so much. It’ll be a great 
deal better to be let down gradual than to flop into 
the water all of a bunch.” 

“Very well,” said Mrs. Aleshine ; “it may be best 
to get used to it by degrees, but I must say I wish I 
was home.” 

As for me, I would have much preferred to jump 
overboard at once, instead of waiting in this cold- 
blooded manner. But as my companions had so far 
preserved their presence of mind, I did not wish to 
do anything which might throw them into a panic. 

20 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


I believed there would be no danger from the suction 
caused by the sinking of a small boat like this, and if 
we took care not to entangle ourselves with it in any 
way, we might as well follow Mrs. Lecks’s advice as 
not. So we all stood up, Mrs. Leeks in the stern, I in 
the bow, and Mrs. Aleshine on a thwart between us. 
The last did not appear to have quite room enough for 
a steady footing, but, as she remarked, it did not 
matter very much, as the footing, broad or narrow, 
would not be there very long. 

I am used to swimming, and have never hesitated 
to take a plunge into river or ocean, but I must admit 
that it was very trying to my nerves to stand up this 
way and wait for a boat to sink beneath me. How the 
two women were affected I do not know. They said 
nothing, but their faces indicated that something dis- 
agreeable was about to happen, and that the less that 
was said about it the better. 

The boat had now sunk so much that the water was 
around Mrs. Aleshine’s feet, her standing-place being 
rather lower than ours. I made myself certain that 
there were no ropes nor any other means of entangle- 
ment near my companions or myself, and then I 
waited. There seemed to be a good deal of buoyancy 
in the bow and stern of the boat, and it was a fright- 
fully long time in sinking. The suspense became so 
utterly unendurable that I was tempted to put one 
foot on the edge of the boat, and, by tipping it, put 
an end to this nerve-rack. But I refrained, for I 
probably would throw the women off their balance, 
and they might fall against some part of the boat, 
and do themselves a hurt. I had just relinquished 
this intention when two little waves seemed to rise 
21 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


one on each side of Mrs. Aleshine, and gently flowing 
over the side of the boat, they flooded her feet with 
water. 

“Hold your breaths ! ” I shouted. Now I experi- 
enced a sensation which must have been very like 
that which comes to a condemned criminal at the first 
indication of the pulling of the drop. Then there was 
a horrible sinking, a gurgle, and a swash, and the 
ocean over which I had been gazing appeared to rise 
up and envelop me. 

In a moment, however, my head was out of the 
water, and looking hastily about me, I saw, close by, the 
heads and shoulders of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 
The latter was vigorously winking her eyes and blow- 
ing from her mouth some sea-water that had got into it. 
But as soon as her eyes fell upon me she exclaimed : 

“That was ever so much more sudden than I thought 
it was goin’ to be ! ” 

“Are you both all right?” 

“I suppose I am,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “but I never 
thought that a person with a life-preserver on would 
go clean under the water.” 

“But since you’ve come up again, you ought to be 
satisfied,” said Mrs. Leeks. “And now,” she added, 
turning her face toward me, “which way ought we to 
try to swim ? and have we got everything we want to 
i ke with us ? ” 

“What we haven’t got we can’t get,” remarked Mrs. 
ine. “And as for swimmin’, I expect I’m goin’ 
ke a poor hand at it.” 

'1 a hope, which was not quite strong enough to 
ef, that, supported by their life-preservers, 
Bu ou en might paddle themselves along, and 

22 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


that, by giving them in turn a helping hand, I might 
eventually get them to the steamer. There was a 
strong probability that I would not succeed, but I did 
not care to think of that. 

I now swam in front of my companions, and en- 
deavored to instruct them in the best method of pro- 
pelling themselves with their arms and their hands. 
If they succeeded in this, I thought I would give them 
some further lessons in striking out with their feet. 
After watching me attentively, Mrs. Leeks did manage 
to move herself slowly through the smooth water, but 
poor Mrs. Aleshine could do nothing but splash. 

“If there was anything to take hold of,” she said to 
me, “I might get along. But I can’t get any grip on 
the water, though you seem to do it well enough. 
Look there ! ” she added in a higher voice. “Isn’t 
that an oar floatin’ over there t If you can get that 
for me, I believe I can row myself much better than 
I can swim.” 

This seemed an odd idea, but I swam over to the 
floating oar, and brought it to her. I was about to 
show her how she could best use it, but she declined 
my advice. 

“If I do it at all,” she said, “I must do it in my own 
way.” And taking the oar in her strong hands, she 
began to ply it on the water, very much in the way in 
which she would handle a broom. At first she dipped 
the blade too deeply, but, correcting this error, she soo 
began to paddle herself along at a slow but steady ratt 

“Capital ! ” I cried. “You do that admirably ! ” 

“Anybody who’s swept as many rooms as I have,’ 
she said, “ought to be able to handle anything tha 
can be used like a broom.” 


23 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“Isn’t there another oar?” cried Mrs. Leeks, who 
had now been left a little distance behind us. “If 
there is, I want one.” 

Looking about me, I soon discovered another float- 
ing oar, and brought it to Mrs. Leeks, who, after hold- 
ing it in various positions, so as to get “the hang of 
it,” as she said, soon began to use it with as much skill 
as that shown by her friend. If either of them had 
been obliged to use an oar in the ordinary way I fear 
they would have had a bad time of it ; but consider- 
ing the implement in the light of a broom, its use im- 
mediately became familiar to them, and they got on 
remarkably well. 

I now took a position a little in advance of my com- 
panions, and as I swam slowly they were easily able to 
keep up with me. Mrs. Aleshine, being so stout, 
floated much higher out of the water than either Mrs. 
Leeks or I, and this permitted her to use her oar with 
a great deal of freedom. Sometimes she would give 
such a vigorous brush to the water that she would 
turn herself almost entirely around, but after a little 
practice she learned to avoid undue efforts of this 
kind. 

I was not positively sure that we were going in the 
right direction, for my position did not allow me to 
ce very far over the water ; but I remembered that 
I was standing up in the boat, and made my 
overy, the sun was just about to rise in front of 
File the dark spot on the ocean lay to my left. 

1 2, therefore, from the present position of the 

v ich was not very high, I concluded that we 
ng toward the north, and therefore in the 
4 ' ion. How far off the steamer might be I 

24 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

had no idea, for I was not accustomed to judging dis- 
tances at sea, but I believed that if we were careful of 
our strength, and if the ocean continued as smooth as 
it now was, we might eventually reach the vessel, 
provided she were yet afloat. 

“After you are fairly in the water/’ said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, as she swept along, although without the veloc- 
ity which that phrase usually implies, “it isn’t half 
so bad as I thought it would be. For one thing, it 
don’t feel a bit salt, although I must say it tasted 
horribly that way when I first went into it.” 

“You didn’t expect to find pickle-brine, did you?” 
said Mrs. Leeks. “Though, if it was, I suppose we 
could float on it settin’.” 

“And as to bein’ cold,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “the 
part of me that’s in is actually more comfortable than 
that which is out.” 

“There’s one thing I would have been afraid of,” 
said Mrs. Leeks, “if we hadn’t made preparations for 
it, and that’s sharks.” 

“Preparations ! ” I exclaimed. “How in the world 
did you prepare for sharks ? ” 

“Easy enough,” said Mrs. Leeks. “When we went 
down into our room to get ready to go away in the 
boats we both put on black stockin’s. I’ve read that 
sharks never bite colored people, although if they see 
a white man in the water they’ll snap him up as quick 
as lightnin’. And black stockin’s was the nearest we 
could come to it. You see, I thought as like as not 
we’d have some sort of an upset before we got through.” 

“It’s a great comfort,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine, “and 
I’m very glad you thought of it, Mrs. Leeks. After 
this I shall make it a rule : Black stockin’s for sharks.” 


25 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“I suppose in your case / 7 said Mrs. Leeks, address- 
ing me, “dark trousers will do as well . 77 

To which I answered that I sincerely hoped they 
would. 

“Another thing I 7 m thankful for , 77 said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “is that I thought to put on a flannel skeert . 77 

“And what’s the good of it , 77 said Mrs. Leeks, “when 
it 7 s soppin 7 wet 77 

“Flannel’s flannel , 77 replied her friend, “whether 
it’s wet or dry, and if you’d had the rheumatism as 
much as I have, you’d know it.” 

To this Mrs. Leeks replied with a sniff, and asked 
me how soon I thought we would get sight of the ship, 
for if we were going the wrong way, and had to turn 
round and go back, it would certainly be very pro- 
voking. 

I should have been happy indeed to be able to give 
a satisfactory answer to this question. Every time 
that we rose upon a swell I threw a rapid glance 
around the whole circle of the horizon, and at last, 
not a quarter of an hour after Mrs. Lecks’s question, I 
was rejoiced to see, almost in the direction in which I 
supposed it ought to be, the dark spot which I had 
before discovered. I shouted the glad news, and as 
we rose again my companions strained their eyes in 
the direction to which I pointed. They both saw it, 
and were greatly satisfied. 

“Now, then,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “it seems as if 
\ ere was somethin’ to work for.” And she began to 
s ep her oar with great vigor. 

f you want to tire yourself out before you get 
Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, “you’d 
go on in that way. Now what I advise is that 
26 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


we stop rowin’ altogether, and have somethin’ to eat, 
for I’m sure we need it to keep up our strength.” 

“Eat ! ” I cried. “What are you going to eat? Do 
you expect to catch fish ? ” 

“And eat ’em raw?” said Mrs. Leeks. “I should 
think not. But do you suppose, Mr. Craig, that Mrs. 
Aleshine and me would go off and leave that ship 
without takin’ somethin’ to eat by the way? Let’s 
all gather here in a bunch, and see what sort of a 
meal we can make. Now, Barb’ry Aleshine, if you lay 
your oar down there on the water, I recommend you 
to tie it to one of your bonnet-strings, or it’ll be floatin’ 
away, and you won’t get it again.” 

As she said this, Mrs. Leeks put her right hand 
down into the water, and fumbled about, apparently 
in search of a pocket. I could not but smile as I 
thought of the condition of food when, for an hour or 
more, it had been a couple of feet under the surface 
of the ocean. But my ideas on the subject were en- 
tirely changed when I saw Mrs. Leeks hold up in the 
air two German sausages, and shake the briny drops 
from their smooth and glittering surfaces. 

“There’s nothin’,” she said, “like sausages for ship- 
wreck and that kind o’ thing. They’re very sustainin’, 
and bein’ covered with a tight skin, water can’t get at 
’em, no matter how you carry ’em. I wouldn’t bring 
these out in the boat, because, havin’ the beans, we 
might as well eat them. Have you a knife about you, 
Mr. Craig?” 

I produced a dripping jack-knife, and after the open 
blade had been waved in the air to dry it a little, Mrs. 
Leeks proceeded to divide one of the sausages, handing 
the other to me to hold meanwhile. 


27 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“Now don’t go eatin’ sausages without bread, if you 
don’t want ’em to give you dyspepsy,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, who was tugging at her submarine pocket. 

“I’m very much afraid your bread is all soaked,” 
said Mrs. Leeks. 

To which her friend replied that that remained to 
be seen, and forthwith produced, with a splash, a glass 
preserve -jar with a metal top. 

“I saw this nearly empty as I looked into the ship’s 
pantry, and I stuffed into it all the soft biscuits it 
would hold. There was some sort of jam left at the 
bottom, so that the one who gets the last biscuit will 
have somethin’ of a little spread on it. And now, Mrs. 
Leeks,” she continued triumphantly, as she unscrewed 
the top, “that rubber ring has kept ’em as dry as chips. 
I’m mighty glad of it, for I had trouble enough gettin’ 
this jar into my pocket, and gettin’ it out, too, for 
that matter.” 

Floating thus, with our hands and shoulders above 
the water, we made a very good meal from the sau- 
sages and soft biscuit. 

“Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, as her friend 
proceeded to cut the second sausage, “don’t you lay 
that knife down, when you’ve done with it, as if ’t was 
an oar, for if you do it’ll sink, as like as not, about six 
miles. I’ve read that the ocean is as deep as that in 
ome places.” 

Goodness gracious me!” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, 
ope we ain’t over one of them deep spots.” 

'iere’s no knowin’,” said Mrs. Leeks, “but if it’s 
^mfortin’ to think it’s shallerer, we’ll make up 
< it «s that way. Now, then,” she continued, “we’ll 
28 


/ 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


finish off this meal with a little somethin’ to drink. 
I’m not given to takin’ spirits, but I never travel 
without a little whiskey, ready mixed with water, to 
take if it should be needed.” 

So saying, she produced from one of her pockets a 
whiskey-flask tightly corked, and of its contents we 
each took a sip, Mrs. Aleshine remarking that, leaving 
out being chilled or colicky, we were never likely to 
need it more than now. 

Thus refreshed and strengthened, Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine took up their oars, while I swam slightly 
in advance, as before. When, with occasional inter- 
missions of rest, and a good deal of desultory conver- 
sation, we had swept and swam for about an hour, Mrs. 
Leeks suddenly exclaimed : “I can see that thing ever 
so much plainer now, and I don’t believe it’s a ship at 
all. To me it looks like bushes.” 

You’re mighty long-sighted without your specs,” 
said Mrs. Aleshine, “and I’m not sure but what you’re 
right.” 

For ten minutes or more I had been puzzling over 
the shape of the dark spot, which was now nearly all 
the time in sight. Its peculiar form had filled me with 
a dreadful fear that it was the steamer bottom up- 
ward, although I knew enough about nautical matters 
to have no good reason to suppose that this could be 
the case. I am not far-sighted, but when Mrs. Leeks 
suggested bushes, I gazed at the distant object with 
totally different ideas, and soon began to believe that 
it was not a ship, either right side up or wrong side 
up, but that it might be an island. This belief I pro- 
claimed to my companions, and for some time we all 
29 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


worked with increased energy in the desire to get near 
enough to make ourselves certain in regard to this 
point. 

“ As true as I’m standin’ here/’ said Mrs. Leeks, who, 
although she could not read without spectacles, had 
remarkably good sight at long range, “them is trees 
and bushes that I see before me, though they do seem 
to be growin’ right out of the water.” 

“There’s an island under them, you may be sure of 
that ! ” I cried. “Isn’t this ever so much better than 
a disabled ship ? ” 

“I’m not so sure about that,” said Mrs. Aleshine. 
“I’m used to the ship, and as long as it didn’t sink I’d 
prefer it. There’s plenty to eat on board of it, and 
good beds to sleep on, which is more than can be ex- 
pected on a little bushy place like that ahead of us. 
But then, the ship might sink all of a sudden, beds, 
vittles, and all.” 

“Do you suppose that’s the island the other boats 
went to ? ” asked Mrs. Leeks. 

This question I had already asked of myself. I had 
been told that the island to which the captain in- 
tended to take his boats lay about thirty miles south 
of the point where we left the steamer. Now I knew 
very well that we had not come thirty miles, and had 
reason to believe, moreover, that the greater part of 
the progress we had made had been toward the north. 
It was not at all probable that the position of this 
land was unknown to our captain, and it must, there- 
", have been considered by him as an unsuitable 
" for the landing of his passengers. There might 
my reasons for this unsuitableness : the island 
■ >e totally barren and desolate ; it might be the 
30 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


abode of unpleasant natives j and, more important than 
anything else, it was, in all probability, a spot where 
steamers never touched. 

But, whatever its disadvantages, I was most wildly 
desirous to reach it— more so, I believe, than either of 
my companions. I do not mean that they were not 
sensible of their danger, and desirous to be freed from 
it 5 but they were women who had probably had a 
rough time of it during a great part of their lives, and 
who, on emerging from their little circle of rural ex- 
periences, accepted with equanimity, and almost as 
a matter of course, the rough times which come to 
people in the great outside world. 

“I do not believe,” I said, in answer to Mrs. Leeks, 
“that it is the island to which the captain would 
have taken us, but, whatever it is, it is dry land, and 
we must get there as soon as we can.” 

“That’s true,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “for I’d like to 
have ground nearer to my feet than six miles, and if 
we don’t find nothin’ to eat and no place to sleep 
when we get there, it’s no more than can be said of the 
place where we are now.” 

“You’re too particular, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. 
Leeks, “about your comforts. If you find the ground 
too hard to sleep on when you get there, you can put 
on your life-preserver, and go to bed in the water.” 

“Very good,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “And if these 
islands are made of coral, as I’ve heard they are, and 
if they’re as full of small p’ints as some coral I’ve got 
at home, you’ll be glad to take a berth by me, Mrs. 
Leeks.” 

I counselled my companions to follow me as rapidly 
as possible, and we all pushed vigorously forward. 

31 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


When we had approached near enough to the island 
to see what sort of place it really was, we perceived 
that it was a low-lying spot, apparently covered with 
verdure, and surrounded, as far as we could see, as we 
rose on the swells, by a rocky reef, against which a 
tolerably high surf was running. 

I knew enough of the formation of these coral islands 
to suppose that within this reef was a lagoon of smooth 
water, into which there were openings through the 
rocky barrier. It was necessary to try to find one of 
these, for it would be difficult and perhaps dangerous 
to attempt to land through the surf. 

Before us we could see a continuous line of white- 
capped breakers, and so I led my little party to the 
right, hoping that we would soon see signs of an 
opening in the reef. 

We swam and paddled, however, for a long time, 
still the surf rolled menacingly on the rocks be- 
us. We were now as close to the island as we 
Id approach with safety, and I determined to cir- 
mavigate it, if necessary, before I would attempt, 

: h these two women, to land upon that jagged reef. 
i last we perceived, at no great distance before us, 
where there seemed to be no breakers, and 
hen we reached it we found, to our unutterable de- 
d, that here was smooth water flowing through a 
mc* opening in the reef. The rocks were piled up 
ite high, and the reef, at this point at least, was a 
!e one, but as we neared the opening we found 
it it narrowed very soon, and made a turn to the 
;so that from the outside we could not see into the 
1 on. 

swam into this smooth water, followed closely by 

32 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, who, however, soon be- 
came unable to use their oars, owing to the proximity 
of the rocks. Dropping these useful implements, they 
managed to paddle after me with their hands, and 
they were as much astonished as I was when, just 
after making the slight turn, we found stretched 
across the narrow passage a great iron bar about eight 
or ten inches above the water. A little farther on, 
and two or three feet above the water, another iron 
bar extended from one rocky wall to the other. With- 
out uttering a word I examined the lower bar, and 
found one end of it fastened by means of a huge pad- 
lock to a great staple driven into the rock. The lock 
was securely wrapped in what appeared to be tarred 
canvas. A staple through an eyehole in the bar se- 
cured the other end of it to the rocks. 

“ These bars were put here,” I exclaimed, “to keep 
out boats, whether at high or low water. You see, 
they can only be thrown out of the way by taking off 
the padlocks.” 

“They won’t keep us out,” said Mrs. Leeks, “for we 
can duck under. I suppose whoever put ’em here 
didn’t expect anybody to arrive on life-preservers.” 


33 


PART II 

Adopting Mrs. Lecks’s suggestion, I “ducked” my 
head under the bar, and passed to the other side of it. 
Mrs. Leeks, with but little trouble, followed my ex- 
ample ; but Mrs. Aleshine, who, by reason of her stout- 
ness, floated so much higher out of the water than her 
friend and I, found it impossible to get herself under 
the bar. In whatever manner she made the attempt, 
her head or her shoulders were sure to bump and 
arrest her progress. 

“Now, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, who had 
been watching her, “if you ever want to get out of 
this salt water, you’ve got to make up your mind to 
take some of it into your mouth and into your eyes— 
that is, if you don’t keep ’em shut. Get yourself as 
close to that bar as you can, and I’ll come and put 
you under.” Bo saying, Mrs. Leeks returned to the 
other side of the bar, and having made Mrs. Aleshine 
bow down her head and close her eyes and mouth, she 
placed both hands upon her companion’s broad shoul- 
ders, and threw as much weight as possible upon them. 
Mrs. Aleshine almost disappeared beneath the water, 
but she came up sputtering and blinking on the other 
side of the bar, where she was quickly joined by Mrs. 
Leeks. 


34 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


“ Merciful me!” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, wiping 
her wet face with her still wetter sleeve, “I never 
supposed the heathens would he up to such tricks as 
makin’ us do that ! ” 

I had waited to give any assistance that might be 
required, and, while doing so, had discovered another 
bar under the water, which proved that entrance at 
almost any stage of the tide had been guarded against. 
Warning my companions not to strike their feet against 
this submerged bar, we paddled and pushed ourselves 
around the turn in the rocky passage, and emerged 
into the open lagoon. 

This smooth stretch of water, which separated the 
island from its encircling reef, was here about a hun- 
dred feet wide, and the first thing that arrested our 
attention as we gazed across it was a little wharf or 
landing-stage, erected upon the narrow beach of the 
island, almost opposite to us. 

“As sure as I stand here,” exclaimed Mrs. Leeks, 
who never seemed to forget her upright position, 
“ somebody lives in this place ! ” 

“And it isn’t a stickery coral island, either,” cried Mrs. 
Aleshine, “for that sand’s as smooth as any I ever saw.” 

“Whoever does live here,” resumed Mrs. Leeks, 
“has got to take us in, whether they like it or not, and 
the sooner we get over there, the better.” 

Mrs. Aleshine now regretted the loss of her oar, and 
suggested that some one of us who could get under 
bars easily should go back after it. But Mrs. Leeks 
would listen to no such proposition. 

“Let the oars go,” she said. “We won’t want ’em 
again, for I’ll never leave this place if I have to scoop 
myself out to sea with an oar.” 

35 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


I told the two women that I eonld easily tow them 
across this narrow piece of water • and instructing 
Mrs. Leeks to take hold of the tail of my coat, while 
Mrs. Aleshine grasped her companion’s dress, I began 
to swim slowly toward the beach, towing my com- 
panions behind me. 

“ Goodnessful gracious me!” suddenly exclaimed 
Mrs. Aleshine, with a great bounce and a splash, “look 
at the fishes ! ” 

The water in the lagoon was so clear that it was 
almost transparent, and beneath us and around us we 
could see fish, some large and some small, swimming 
about as if they were floating in the air, while down 
below the white sandy bottom seemed to sparkle in 
the sunlight. 

“Now don’t jerk my skeert off on account of the 
fishes,” said Mrs. Leeks. “I expect there was just as 
many outside, though we couldn’t see ’em. But I 
must say that this water looks as if it had been boiled 
and filtered.” 

If any inhabitant of the island had then been stand- 
ing on the wharf, he would have beheld on the surface 
of the lagoon the peculiar spectacle of a man’s head 
surmounted by a wet and misshapen straw hat, fol- 
lowed by two other heads, each wearing a dripping 
and bedraggled bonnet, while beneath, among the 
ripples of the clear water, would have been seen the 
figures belonging to these three heads, each dressed in 
the clothes ordinarily worn on land. 

As I swam I could see before me, on the island, 
nothing but a mass of low-growing, tropical vegeta- 
tion, behind which rose some palms and other trees. 
I made for the little wharf, from which steps came 
36 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


down into the water, and as soon as we reached it we 
all clambered rapidly up, and stood dripping upon the 
narrow platform, stamping our feet and shaking our 
clothes. 

“Do you see that house f ” said Mrs. Leeks. “That’s 
where they live, and I wonder which way we must go 
to get there.” 

From this somewhat elevated position I could 
plainly see, over the tops of the bushes and low trees, 
the upper part of the roof of a house. When I found 
the bars across the passage in the reef, I had easily 
come to the conclusion that the inhabitants of this 
island were not savages, and now since I had seen the 
wharf and the roof of this house, I felt quite convinced 
that we had reached the abode of civilized beings. 
They might be pirates or some other sort of sea mis- 
creants, but they were certainly not savages or canni- 
bals. 

Leaving the wharf, we soon found a broad path 
through the bushes, and in a few moments reached a 
wide, open space, in which stood a handsome modern- 
built house. It was constructed after the fashion of 
tropical houses belonging to Europeans, with jalousied 
porches and shaded balconies. The grounds about it 
were neatly laid out, and behind it was a walled in- 
closure, probably a garden. 

“Upon my word,” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, “I’d 
like to be less drippin’ before I make a call on genteel 
folks!” 

“Genteel folks ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Leeks, indignantly. 
“If you’re too proud to go in as you are, Barb’ry Ale- 
shine, you can go set in the sun till you’re dry. As 
for me, I’m goin’ to ask for the lady of the house, and 
37 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


if she don’t like me she can lump me, so long as she 
gives me somethin’ to eat and a dry bed to get into.” 

I was too much amazed to speak, but my companions 
took everything as a matter of course. They had ex- 
pected to see strange things in the outer world, and 
they were not surprised when they saw them. My 
mind was not capable of understanding the existence 
of an establishment like this on a little island in mid- 
ocean. But it was useless for me to attempt to reason 
on this apparent phenomenon, and, indeed, there was 
no time for it, for Mrs. Leeks walked boldly up to the 
front door and plied the knocker, stepping back im- 
mediately, so that she might not drip too much water 
on the porch. 

“When they come,” she said, “we’ll ask ’em to let 
us in the back way, so that we sha’n’t slop up their 
floors any more than we can help.” 

We waited for a couple of minutes, and then I, as 
the member of the party who dripped the least, went 
up on the porch and knocked again. 

“It’s my belief they’re not at home,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
after we had waited some time longer, “but perhaps 
we’ll find some of the servants in,” and she led the 
way to the back part of the house. 

As we passed the side of the mansion I noticed that 
all the window-shutters were closed, and my growing 
belief that the place was deserted became a conviction 
after we had knocked several times at a door at the 
back of the building without receiving any answer. 

“Well, they’re all gone out, that’s certain!” said 
Mrs. Leeks. 

“Yes, and they barred up the entrance to the island 
when they left,” I added. 


38 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


“I wonder if there’s another house in the neighbor- 
hood ? ” asked Mrs. Aleshine. 

“I don’t believe,” said I, “that the neighborhood is 
very thickly settled, but if you will wait here a few 
minutes, I will run around this wall and see what 
there is beyond. I may find the huts of some natives 
or work-people.” 

I followed a path by the side of the garden wall, 
but when I reached the end of the enclosure I could 
see nothing before me but jungle and forest, with 
paths running in several directions. I followed one 
of these, and very soon came out upon an open beach, 
with the reef lying beyond it. From the form of the 
beach and the reef, and from the appearance of things 
generally, I began to think that this was probably a 
very small island, and that the house we had come to 
was the only one on it. I returned and reported this 
belief to my companions. 

Now that Mrs. Aleshine had no fear of appearing in 
an untidy condition before “genteel folks,” her manner 
changed very much. “If the family has gone into the 
country,” said she, “or whatever else they’ve done, I 
want to get into this house as soon as I can. I expect 
we can find something to eat. At any rate, we can 
get ourselves dry, and lay down somewhere to rest, 
for not a wink has one of us slept since night before 
last.” 

“I should think,” said Mrs. Leeks, addressing me, 
“that if you could manage to climb up to them second- 
story windows, you might find one of them that you 
could get in, and then come down and open the door 
for us. Everybody is likely to forget to fasten some 
of the windows on the upper floors. I know it isn’t 
39 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


right to force our way into other people’s houses, but 
there’s nothin’ else to be done, and there’s no need of 
our talkin’ about it.” 

I agreed with her perfectly, and taking off my coat 
and shoes, I climbed up one of the columns of the 
veranda, and got upon its roof. This extended nearly 
the whole length of two sides of the house. I walked 
along it and tried all the shutters, and I soon came to 
one in which some of the movable slats had been 
broken. Thrusting my hand and arm through the 
aperture thus formed, I unhooked the shutters and 
opened them. The sash was fastened down by one of 
the ordinary contrivances used for such purposes, but 
with the blade of my jack-knife I easily pushed the 
bolt aside, raised the sash, and entered. I found my- 
self in a small hall at the head of a flight of stairs. 
Down these I hurried, and groping my way through 
the semi- darkness of the lower story, I reached a side 
door. This was fastened by two bolts and a bar, and 
I quickly had it open. 

Stepping outside, I called Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
shine. 

“Well,” said the latter, “I’m sure I’ll be glad to 
get in, and as we’ve squeezed most of the water out 
of our clothes, we won’t make so much of a mess, 
after all.” 

We now entered, and I opened one of the shutters. 

“Let’s go right into the kitchen,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“and make a fire. That’s the first thing to do.” 

But Mrs. Leeks soon discovered that this mansion 
was very different from a country dwelling in one of 
our Middle States. Externally, and as far as I had 
been able to observe its internal arrangements, it re- 
40 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

sembled the houses built by English residents which 
I had seen in the West Indies. It was a dwelling in 
which modern ideas in regard to construction and 
furnishing adapted themselves to the requirements of 
a tropical climate. Apparently there was no kitchen. 
There were no stairs leading to a lower floor, and the 
darkened rooms into which my companions peered 
were certainly not used for culinary purposes. 

In the meantime I had gone out of the door by 
which we had entered, and soon discovered, on the 
other side of the house, a small building with a chim- 
ney to it, which I felt sure must be the kitchen. The 
door and shutters were fastened, but before making 
any attempt to open them I returned to announce my 
discovery. 

“Door locked, is it? ” said Mrs. Aleshine. “Just 
wait a minute.” 

She then disappeared, but in a very short time came 
out, carrying a bunch of large keys. 

“It’s always the way,” said she, as the two followed 
me round the back of the house, “when people shut 
up a house and leave it, to put all the door-keys in the 
back corner of some drawer in the hall, and to take 
only the front-door key with them. So, you see, I 
knew just where to go for these.” 

“It’s a poor hen,” said Mrs. Leeks, “that begins to 
cackle when she’s goin’ to her nest. The wise ones 
wait till they’re cornin’ away. Now we’ll see if one of 
them keys fit.” 

Greatly to the triumph of Mrs. Aleshine, the second 
or third key I tried unlocked the door. Entering, we 
found ourselves in a good-sized kitchen, with a great 
fireplace at one end of it. A door opened from the 
41 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


room into a shed where there was a pile of dry twigs 
and fire-wood. 

“ Let’s have a fire as quick as we can/’ said Mrs. 
Leeks, “for since I went into that shet-up house I’ve 
been chilled to the bones.” 

“That’s so,” said Mrs. Aleshine $ “and now I know 
how a fish keeps comfortable in the water, and how 
dreadfully wet and flabby it must feel when it’s taken 
out.” 

I brought in a quantity of wood and kindling, and 
finding matches in a tin box on the wall, I went to 
work to make a fire, and was soon rewarded by a 
crackling blaze. Turning around, I was amazed at 
the actions of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. I had 
expected to see them standing shivering behind me, 
waiting for the fire to be made. But instead of that, 
they were moving rapidly here and there, saying not 
a word, but going as straight to cupboard, closet, and 
pantry as the hound follows the track of the hare. 
From a wild chaos of uncongenial surroundings, these 
two women had dropped into a sphere in which they 
were perfectly at home. The kitchen was not alto- 
gether like those to which they had been accustomed, 
but it was a well-appointed one, and their instincts 
and practice made them quickly understand where 
they would find what they wanted. I gazed on them 
with delight while one filled a kettle from a little 
pump in the corner which brought water from a cis- 
tern, and the other appeared from the pantry, carry- 
ing a tea-caddy and a tin biscuit-box. 

“Now, then,” said Mrs. Leeks, hanging the kettle 
on a crane over the fire, and drawing up a chair, “by 
the time we’ve got a little dried off the kettle will 
42 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


bile, and we ? ll have some hot tea, and then the best 
thing to do is to go to bed.” 

“ We’ll take time to have a bite first,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “for I was never so near famished in my life. 
I brought out a box nearly full of biscuits, and there’s 
sardines in this, Mr. Craig, which you can easy open 
with your knife.” 

I piled on more wood, and we gathered close around 
the genial heat. The sunshine was hot outside, but 
that did not prevent the fire from being most comfort- 
ing and refreshing to us. 

As soon as the kettle began to simmer, up jumped 
Mrs. Aleshine. A sugar-bowl and some cups were 
placed upon a table, and in a short time we were 
cheered and invigorated by hot tea, biscuits, and 
sardines. 

“This isn’t much of a meal,” said Mrs. Aleshine, 
apologetically, “but there’s no time to cook nothin’, 
and the sooner we get off our wet things and find some 
beds, the better.” 

“If I can once get into bed,” said Mrs. Leeks, “all I 
ask is that the family will not come back till I have 
had a good long nap. After that, they can do what 
they please.” 

We now went back to the house, and ascended the 
main stairway, which led up to a large central hall. 

“We won’t go into the front rooms,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“for we don’t want to make no more disturbance than 
we can help. But if we can find the smallest kind of 
rooms in the back, with beds in ’em, it is all we can ask.” 

The first chamber we entered was a good-sized one, 
neatly furnished, containing a bedstead with uncov- 
ered mattress and pillows. Opening a closet door, 
43 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


Mrs. Leeks exclaimed : “This is a man’s room, Mr. 
Craig, and you’d better take it. Look at the trousers 
and coats ! There’s no bedclothes in here, but I’ll see 
if I can’t find some.” 

In a few minutes she returned, bearing blankets, 
sheets, and a pillow-case. With Mrs. Aleshine on one 
side of the bedstead and Mrs. Leeks on the other, the 
sheets and blankets were laid with surprising deftness 
and rapidity, and in a few moments I saw before me 
a most inviting bed. 

While Mrs. Aleshine held a pillow in her teeth as 
she pulled on the pillow-case with both hands, Mrs. 
Leeks looked around the room with the air of an at- 
tentive hostess. “I guess you’ll be comfortable, Mr. 
Craig,” she said, “and I advise you to sleep just as 
long as you can. We’ll take the room on the other 
side of the hall. But I’m first goin’ down to see if 
the kitchen fire is safe, and to fasten the doors.” 

I offered to relieve her of this trouble, but she 
promptly declined my services. “When it’s rowin’ or 
swimmin’, you can do it, Mr. Craig, but when it’s 
lockin’ up and lookin’ to fires, I’ll attend to that 
myself.” 

My watch had stopped, but I suppose it was the 
middle of the afternoon when I went to bed, and I 
slept steadily until some hours after sunrise the next 
morning, when I was awakened by a loud knock at 
the door. 

“It’s time to get up,” said the voice of Mrs. Leeks, 
“and if your clothes are not entirely dry, you’d better 
see if there isn’t somethin’ in that closet you can put 
on. After a while I’ll make a big fire in the kitchen, 
and dry all our things.” 


44 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


I found my clothes were still very damp, and after 
investigating the contents of the closet and bureau, I 
was able to supply myself with linen and a light sum- 
mer suit which fitted me fairly well. I even found 
socks and a pair of slippers. 

When I entered the kitchen, I first opened wide my 
eyes with delight, and then I burst out laughing. 
Before me was a table covered with a white cloth, with 
plates, cups, and everything necessary upon it. At 
one end was a steaming tea-pot, and at the other a 
dish of some kind of hot meat, and Mrs. Aleshine was 
just taking a pan of newly baked biscuits from a small 
iron oven. 

“I don’t wonder you laugh,” said Mrs. Leeks, “but 
our clothes was still wet, and we had to take just what 
we could find. I’m not in the habit of goin’ about in 
a white muslin wrapper with blue-ribbon trimmin’s, 
and as for Mrs. Aleshine, I did think we’d never find 
anything that she could get into. But there must 
be one stout woman in the family, for that yeller frock 
with black buttons fits her well enough, though I must 
say it’s a good deal short.” 

“I never thought,” said Mrs. Aleshine, as she sat 
down at the tea-pot, “that the heathens had so many 
conveniences, specially bakin’ -powders and Dutch 
ovens. For my part, I always supposed that they 
used their altars for bakin’ when they wasn’t offerin’ 
up victims on ’em.” 

“Have you got it into your head, Barb’ry Aleshine,” 
said Mrs. Leeks, looking up from the dish of potted 
beef she was serving, “that this house belongs to com- 
mon heathen ? I expect that most of the savages who 
live on these desert islands has been converted by the 


45 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


missionaries, but they’d have to take ’em from Genesis 
to Eevelations a good many times before they’d get 
’em to the p’int of havin’ force-pumps in their kitchens 
and spring-mattresses on their beds. As far as I’ve 
seen this house, it looks as if the family had always 
been Christians, and probably either Catholics or 
Episcopalians.” 

“On account of the cross on the mantelpiece in our 
room, I suppose,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “But whether 
they’re given to idols or prayer-books, I know they’ve 
got a mighty nice house $ and considerin’ the distance 
from stores, there’s a good deal more in that pantry 
than you’d expect to find in any house I know of 
when the family is away.” 

“It is my opinion,” said I, “that this house belongs 
to some rich man, probably an American or European 
merchant, who lives on one of the large islands not far 
away, and who uses this as a sort of summer residence.” 

“I thought it was always summer in this part of the 
world,” said Mrs. Leeks. 

“So it is in effect,” I replied. “But there are some 
seasons when it is very unpleasant to remain in one of 
those towns which are found on the larger islands, and 
so the owner of this house may come up here some- 
times for fresh sea air.” 

“Or it’s just as like,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “that he 
lives somewhere up in the iceberg regions, and comes 
here to spend his winters. It would do just as well. 
But, whichever way it is, I can’t help thinkin’ it’s 
careless not to leave somebody in the house to take 
care of it. Why, for all the family would know about 
it, tramps might break in and stay as long as they 
like.” 


46 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


“ That’s just what’s happenin’ now,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“and for my part I ain’t goin’ to find no fault. I 
don’t suppose the people would have been so hard- 
hearted as to turn us away from their doors, but I’ve 
seen enough of folks in this world not to be too sure 
about that.” 

“How do you suppose,” said Mrs. Aleshine, address- 
ing me, “that the family gets here and goes back? 
Do they keep a private steamboat ? ” 

“Of course they have a private vessel of some kind,” 
I answered, “probably a yacht. It is quite certain 
that ordinary steamers never touch here.” 

“If that’s the case,” said Mrs. Leeks, “all we can do 
is to wait here till they come, and get them to send us 
away in their ship. But whether they’ve just gone 
or are just a-comin’ back depends, I suppose, on 
whether they live in a freezin’ or a burnin’ country. 
And if they don’t like our bein’ here when they come 
back, there’s one thing they can make up their minds 
to, and that is that I’m never goin’ to leave this place 
on a life-preserver.” 

“Nor me nuther,” said Mrs. Aleshine, finishing, with 
much complacency, her third cup of tea. 

When breakfast was over, Mrs. Leeks pushed back 
her chair, but did not immediately rise. With an ex- 
pression of severe thought upon her face, she gazed 
steadfastly before her for a minute, and then she ad- 
dressed Mrs. Aleshine, who had begun to gather 
together the cups and the plates. “Now, Barb’ry 
Aleshine,” said she, “don’t you begin to clear off the 
table, nor touch a single thing to wash it up, till we’ve 
been over this house. I want to do it now, before Mr. 
Craig goes out to prospect around and see what else 
47 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 

is on the island, which, I suppose, he’ll be wantin’ 
to do.” 

I replied that I had that intention, but I was quite 
willing to go over the house first. 

“It’s come to me,” said Mrs. Leeks, speaking very 
gravely, “that it’s no use for us to talk of the family 
bein’ here, or bein’ there, till we’ve gone over this 
house. If we find that they have, as far as we know, 
gone away in good health and spirits, that’s all well 
enough 5 but if anything’s happened in this house, I 
don’t want to be here with what’s happened — at least, 
without knowin’ it, and when we do go over the house, 
I want a man to go with us.” 

“If you’d talked that way last night, Mrs. Leeks,” 
exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, “I’d never slept till after 
sun-up, and then got up and gone huntin’ round among 
them frocks and petticoats to find somethin’ that would 
fit me, with the quiet pulse I did have, Mrs. Leeks ! ” 

To this remark Mrs. Leeks made no reply, but, ris- 
ing, she led the way out of the kitchen and into the 
house. 

The rooms on the first floor were very well furnished. 
There was a large parlor, and back of it a study or 
library, while on the other side of the hall was a din- 
ing-room and an apartment probably used as a family 
room. We found nothing in these which would 
indicate that anything untoward had happened in 
them. Then we went up -stairs, I leading the way, 
Mrs. Leeks following, and Mrs. Aleshine in the rear. 
We first entered one of the front chambers, which was 
quite dark, but Mrs. Leeks unfastened and threw open 
a shutter. Then, with a rigid countenance and deter- 
mined mien, she examined every part of the room, 
48 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


looked into every closet, and even under the bed. It 
was quite plain that it was in one of the chambers that 
she expected to find what had hai^pened, if anything 
had happened. 

The room on the other side of the hall was very like 
the one we first examined, except that it had two beds 
in it. We next visited the chamber recently occupied 
by my two companions, which was now undergoing 
the process of “airing.” 

“We needn’t stop here,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine. 

But Mrs. Leeks instantly replied : “Indeed, we will 
stop. I’m goin’ to look under the bed.” 

“Merciful me!” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, putting 
her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Supposin’ you 
should find somethin’, and we sleepin’ here last night ! 
It curdles me to think of it ! ” 

“It’s my duty,” said Mrs. Leeks, severely, “and I 
shall do it.” 

And do it she did, rising from the task with a sigh 
of relief. 

My room was subjected to the same scrutiny as the 
others, and then we visited some smaller rooms at the 
extreme back of the house, which we had not before 
noticed. A garret, or loft, was reached by a steep 
stairway in one of these rooms, and into its dusky 
gloom I ventured by myself. 

“Now, don’t come down, Mr. Craig,” said Mrs. 
Leeks, “till you’re sure there’s nothin’ there. Of all 
places in the house, that cock-loft, after all, is the 
most likely.” 

I had none of the fears which seemed to actuate the 
two women, but I had a very unpleasant time of it 
groping about in the darkness and heat, and, as the 
49 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


place was only partly floored, running the continual 
risk of crashing down through the lath and plaster. I 
made myself quite sure, however, that nothing had 
happened in that loft, unless some one had suffocated 
there, and had dried up and become the dust which 
I raised at every step. 

“Now, then/’ said Mrs. Leeks, when I descended, 
“as there’s no cellar, we’ll go wash up the breakfast 
things, and if you want to take a walk, to see if there’s 
any genuwine heathens or anybody else a-livin’ in this 
island, we’re not afraid to be left alone.” 

For the rest of the morning I wandered alone about 
the island. I investigated the paths that I had 
before noticed, and found that each of them led, after 
a moderate walk, to some wide and pleasant part of 
the beach. At one of these points I found a rustic 
bench, and stufled in between two of the slats which 
formed the seat, I found a book. It had been sadly 
wet and discolored by rain, and dried and curled up 
by the wind and sun. I pulled it out, and found it to 
be a novel in French. On one of the fly-leaves was 
written “Emily.” Reasoning from the dilapidated 
appearance of this book, I began to believe that the 
family must have left the place some time ago, and 
that, therefore, their return might be expected at a 
proportionately early period. On second thoughts, 
however, I considered that the state of this book was 
of little value as testimony. A few hours of storm, 
wind, and sun might have inflicted all the damage it 
had sustained. The two women would be better able 
to judge by the state of the house and the condition 
of the provisions how long the family had been away. 

I then started out on a walk along the beach, and in 
50 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


little more than an hour I had gone entirely around 
the island. Nowhere did I see any sign of habitation 
or occupation except at the house which had given us 
shelter, nor any opening through the surrounding reef 
except the barred passageway through which we had 
come. 

When I returned to the house, I found that Mrs. 
Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine had been hard at work all 
the morning. They had, so to speak, gone regularly 
and systematically to housekeeping, and had already 
divided the labors of the establishment between them. 
Mrs. Aleshine, who prided herself on her skill in culi- 
nary matters, was to take charge of the cooking, while 
Mrs. Leeks assumed the care of the various rooms and 
the general management of the household. This ar- 
rangement was explained to me at length, and when 
I remarked that all this seemed to indicate that they 
expected to remain here for a long time, Mrs. Leeks 
replied : 

“In my part of the country I could tell pretty close, 
by the dust on the tables and on the top of the pian- 
ner, how long a family had been out of a house. But 
dust in Pennsylvany and dust on a sea island, where 
there’s no wagons nor carriages, is quite different. 
This house has been left in very good order, and 
though the windows wants washin’, and the floors and 
stairs brushin’,— which will be easy considerin’ that 
none of ’em has carpets,— and everything in the house 
a reg’lar cleanin’ up and airin’, it may be that the 
family hasn’t been gone away very long, and so it may 
be a good while before they come back again. Mrs. 
Aleshine and me has talked it over, and we’ve made 
up our minds that the right thing to do is just to go 
51 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


along and attend to things as if we was a-goin’ to stay 
here for a month or two ; and it may be even longer 
than that before the people come back. And I don’t 
think they’ll have anything to complain of when they 
find their house in apple-pie order, their windows 
washed, their floors clean, and not a speck of dust any- 
where.” 

“For my part,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “I don’t see 
what they’ve got to find fault with, anyway. I look 
on this as part of the passage. To be sure, we ain’t 
movin’ a bit on our way to Japan, but that’s not my 
fault, nor yet yours, Mrs. Leeks, nor yours, Mr. Craig. 
We paid our passage to go to Japan, and if the ship 
was steered wrong and got sunk, we hadn’t anything 
to do with it. We didn’t want to come here, but here 
we are, and I’d like to know who’s got any right to 
find fault with us.” 

“And bein’ here,” said Mrs. Leeks, “we’ll take care 
of the things.” 

“As far as I’m concerned,” added Mrs. Aleshine, “if 
this island was movin’ on to Japan, I’d a great deal 
rather be on it than on that ship, where, to my way 
of thinkin’, they didn’t know much more about house- 
keepin’ than they did about steerin’.” 

“I think your plans and arrangements are very 
good,” I said. “But how about the provisions'? Are 
there enough to hold out for any time? ” 

“There’s pretty nigh a barrel of flour,” said Mrs. 
Aleshine, “a good deal of tea and coffee and sugar, and 
lots of things in tins and jars. There’s a kind of cellar 
outside where they keep things cool, and there’s more 
than half a keg of butter down there. It’s too strong 
to use, but I can take that butter, and wash it out, and 
52 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


work it over, and salt it, and make it just as good 
butter as any we got on board the ship.” 

“But,” said I, “you have given me nothing to do. 
I shall not be content to stand about idle and see you 
do all the work.” 

“There’s nothin’ in the house,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“which you need put your hand to, but if you choose 
to go out into that garden, and see if there’s anything 
can be done in it or got out of it,— that is, if you know 
anything about garden work,— I’m sure we’d be very 
glad of any fresh vegetables we could get.” 

I replied that I had been accustomed to garden 
work in an amateur way, and would be glad to do 
anything that was possible in that direction. 

“I never seed into that garden,” said Mrs. Aleshine, 
“but of all the foolish things that ever came under my 
eye, the buildin’ a wall around a garden, when a 
picket fence would do just as well, is the foolishest.” 

I explained that in these countries it was the fashion 
to use walls instead of fences. 

“If it’s the fashion,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “I suppose 
there’s no use sayin’ anything ag’in’ it. But if the 
fashion should happen to change, they’d find it a good 
deal easier to take down a barbed- wire fence than a 
stone wall.” 

This conversation took place in the large lower hall, 
which Mrs. Leeks had been “putting to rights,” and 
where Mrs. Aleshine had just entered from the kitchen. 
Mrs. Leeks now sat down upon a chair, and, dust-cloth 
in hand, she thus addressed me : 

“There’s another thing, Mr. Craig, that me and Mrs. 
Aleshine has been talkin’ about. We haven’t made 
up our minds about it, because we didn’t think it 
53 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


was fair and right to do that before speakin’ to you 
and bearin’ what you had to say on one side or an- 
other of it. Mrs. Aleshine and me has had to bow 
our heads to afflictions, and to walk sometimes in 
roads we didn’t want to, but we’ve remembered the 
ways in which we was brought up, and have kept in 
them as far as we’ve been able. When our husbands 
died, leavin’ Mrs. Aleshine with a son, and me with- 
out any, which, perhaps, is just as well, for there’s no 
knowin’ how he might have turned out—” 

“ That’s so,” interrupted Mrs. Aleshine, “for he 
might have gone as a clerk to Roosher, and then you 
and me would have had to travel different ways.” 

“And when our husbands died,” continued Mrs. 
Leeks, “they left us enough, and plenty, to live on, 
and we wasn’t the women to forget them and their 
ways of thinkin’ any more than we’d forget the ways 
of our fathers and mothers before us.” 

“That’s so ! ” said Mrs. Aleshine, fervently. 

“Now, Mr. Craig,” continued Mrs. Leeks, “we don’t 
know how you’ve been brought up, nor anything 
about you, in fact, except that you’ve been as kind to 
us as if you was some sort of kin, and that we never 
would have thought of cornin’ here without you, and so 
me and Mrs. Aleshine has agreed to leave this whole 
matter to you, and to do just as you say. When us 
two started out on this long journey, we didn’t expect 
to find it what you call a path of roses, and, dear 
only knows, we haven’t found it so.” 

“That’s true ! ” ejaculated Mrs. Aleshine. 

“And what we’ve had to put up with,” continued 
Mrs. Leeks, “we have put up with. So, Mr. Craig, 
whether you say dinner in the middle of the day at 
54 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


twelve, as we’ve always been used to, or at six o’clock 
in the afternoon, as they had it on board that ship,— 
and how people ever come to turn their meals hind 
part foremost in that way, I can’t say,— we are goin’ 
to do it. If you’ve been brought up to six o’clock, you 
won’t hear no complainin’ from us, think what we 
may.” 

I was on the point of laughing aloud at the conclu- 
sion of this speech, but a glance at the serious faces of 
the two women who, with so much earnest solicitude, 
awaited my reply, stopped me, and I hastened to 
assure them that dinner in the middle of the day 
would be entirely in accordance with my every 
wish. 

“Good !” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, her eyes spark- 
ling amid the plumpness of her face, while an expres- 
sion of calm relief passed over the features of Mrs. 
Leeks. 

“Now I’ll be off and get us somethin’ to eat in 
less than no time,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “We didn’t 
know whether to make it lunch or dinner till we had 
seen you, so you can’t expect much to-day, but to- 
morrow we’ll begin, and have everything straight and 
comfortable. I’m goin’ to get up early in the mornin’ 
and bake a batch of bread, and you needn’t be afraid, 
Mr. Craig, but what I’ll have you a bit of hot meat 
every night for your supper.” 

In the afternoon we all visited the garden, which, 
although a good deal overgrown with luxuriant weeds, 
showed marks of fair cultivation. Some of the beds 
had been cleared out and left to the weeds, and we 
found some “garden truck,” as my companions called 
it, with which we were not familiar. But there were 

55 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


tomato-vines loaded with fruit, plenty of beans of 
various kinds, and a large patch of potatoes, many of 
which had been dug. 

From the lower end of the garden Mrs. Aleshine 
gave a shout of delight. We went to her, and found 
her standing before a long asparagus-bed. 

“Well ! ” she exclaimed. “If there’s anything that 
settles it firm in my mind that these people is Chris- 
tians, it’s this bed of grass. I don’t believe there ever 
was heathens that growed grass.” 

“I thought that was all settled when we found the 
bakin’ -powders,” said Mrs. Leeks. 

“But this clinches it,” answered her companion. “I 
can’t tell from a sparrowgrass-bed what church they 
belong to, but they’re no idolaters.” 

The next morning I delivered to the genial Mrs. 
Aleshine a large basketful of fresh vegetables, and 
we had a most excellent dinner. Somewhat to my 
surprise, the table was not set in the kitchen, but in 
the dining-room. 

“Me and Mrs. Aleshine have made up our minds,” 
said Mrs. Leeks, in explanation, “that it’s not the 
proper thing for you to be eatin’ in the kitchen, nor 
for us neither. Here’s table-cloths, and good glass 
and china, and spoons and forks, which, although 
they’re not solid silver, are plated good enough for 
anybody. Neither you nor us is servants, and a kit- 
chen is no place for us.” 

“That’s so!” said Mrs. Aleshine. “We paid our 
money for first-class passages, and it was understood 
that we’d have everything as good as anybody.” 

“Which I don’t see as that has anything to do with 
it, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, “for the steam- 
56 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


ship people don’t generally throw in desert islands as 
part of the accommodation.” 

“We didn’t ask for the island/’ retorted Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “and if they’d steered the ship right we shouldn’t 
have wanted it.” 

When we had finished our dinner, Mrs. Leeks 
pushed back her chair, and sat for a few moments in 
thought, as was her wont before saying anything of 
importance. 

“There’s another thing,” said she, “that I’ve been 
thinkin’ about, though I haven’t spoke of it yet, even 
to Mrs. Aleshine. We haven’t no right to come here 
and eat up the victuals and use the things of the 
people that own this house without payin’ for ’em. 
Of course we’re not goin’ to sleep on the bare ground 
and starve to death while there’s beds and food close 
to our hands. But if we use ’em and take it, we ought 
to pay the people that the place belongs to— that is, 
if we’ve got the money to do it with $ and Mrs. Ale- 
shine and me has got the money. When we went 
down into our cabin to get ready to leave the ship, 
the first thing we did was to put our purses in our 
pockets, and we’ve both got drafts wrapped up in oil 
silk, and sewed inside our frock-bodies. And if you 
didn’t think to bring your money along with you, Mr. 
Craig, we can lend you all you need.” 

I thanked her for her offer, but stated that I had 
brought with me all my money. 

“Now,” continued Mrs. Leeks, “it’s my opinion 
that we ought to pay our board regular every week. 
I don’t know what is commonly charged in a place like 
this, but I know you can get very good board where 
I come from for six dollars a week.” 


57 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“That is for two in a room/ 7 said Mrs. Aleshine. 
“But havin’ a room to himself would make it more 
for Mr. Craig.” 

“It ain’t his fault/’ said Mrs. Leeks, somewhat se- 
verely, “that he ain’t got a brother or some friend to 
take part of the room and pay part of the expense. 
But, anyway, the room isn’t a large one, and I don’t 
think he ought to pay much more for havin’ a room 
to himself. Seven dollars is quite enough.” 

“But then you’ve got to consider,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “that we do the cookin’ and housework, and 
that ought to be counted.” 

“I was cornin’ to that,” said Mrs. Leeks. “Now, if 
me and Mrs. Aleshine was to go out to service, which 
you may be sure we wouldn’t do unless circumstances 
was very different from what they are now — ” 

“That’s true ! ” earnestly ejaculated Mrs. Aleshine. 

“But if we was to do it,” continued Mrs. Leeks, “we 
wouldn’t go into anybody’s family for less than two 
dollars a week. Now, I’ve always heard that wages 
is low in this part of the world, and the work isn’t 
heavy for two of us. So, considerin’ the family isn’t 
here to make their own bargain, I think we’d better 
put our wages at that, so that’ll make four dollars a 
week for each of us two to pay.” 

“But how about Mr. Craig?” said Mrs. Aleshine. 
“He oughtn’t to work in that garden for nothin’.” 

“Fifty cents a day,” said Mrs. Leeks, “is as little as 
any man would work for, and then it oughtn’t to take 
all his time. That will make three dollars to take out 
of Mr. Craig’s board, and leave it four dollars a week, 
the same as ours.” 

I declared myself perfectly satisfied with these ar- 
58 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


rangements, but Mrs. Aleshine did not seem to be 
altogether convinced that they were just. 

“When a woman goes out to service,” said she, “she 
gets her board and is paid wages besides, and it’s the 
same for gardeners.” 

“Then I suppose, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“that we ought to charge these people with our wages, 
and make ’em pay it when they come back ! ” 

This remark apparently disposed of Mrs. Aleshine’s 
objections, and her friend continued: “There’s ajar 
on the mantelpiece there, of the kind the East Indy 
ginger comes in. It’s got nothin’ in it now but some 
brown paper in which fish-hooks is wrapped. We 
came here on a Wednesday, and so every Tuesday 
night we’ll each put four dollars in that jar, under 
the fish-hook paper. Then if, by night or by day, the 
family comes back and makes a fuss about our bein’ 
here, all we have to say is, ( The board money’s in the 
ginger-jar,’ and our consciences is free.” 

Mrs. Lecks’s plan was adopted as a very just and 
proper one, and at the expiration of the week we each 
deposited four dollars in the ginger-jar. 

While occupying this house I do not think that any 
of us endeavored to pry into the private concerns of 
the family who owned it, although we each had a very 
natural curiosity to know something about said family. 
Opportunities of acquiring such knowledge, however, 
were exceedingly scarce. Even if we had been willing 
to look into such receptacles, the several desks and 
secretaries that the house contained were all locked, 
and nowhere could Mrs. Leeks or Mrs. Aleshine find 
an old letter or piece of wrapping-paper with an 
address on it. I explained to my companions that 
59 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


letters and packages were not likely to come to a 
place like this, but they kept a sharp lookout for any- 
thing of the kind, asserting that there could be no 
possible harm in reading the names of the people 
whose house they were in. 

In some of the books in the library, which were 
English and French in about equal proportions, with 
a few volumes in German, I found written on the 
blank pages the names “ Emily ” and “ Lucille,” and 
across the title-pages of some French histories was 
inscribed, in a man’s hand, “A. Dusante.” We dis- 
cussed these names, but could not make up our minds 
whether the family were French or English. For 
instance, there was no reason why an Englishwoman 
might not be called Lucille, and even such a surname 
as Dusante was not uncommon either among English 
or Americans. The labels on the boxes and tins of 
provisions showed that most of them came from San 
Francisco, but this was likely to be the case no matter 
what the nationality of the family. 

The question of the relationship of the three persons 
of whose existence we had discovered traces was a 
very interesting one to Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 

“I can’t make up my mind,” said the latter, “wheth- 
er Emily is the mother of Lucille, or her daughter, 
or whether they are both children of Mr. Dusante, or 
whether he’s married to Lucille and Emily is his sister- 
in-law, or whether she’s his sister and not hers, or 
whether he’s the uncle and they’re his nieces, or wheth- 
er Emily is an old lady and Mr. Dusante and Lucille 
are both her children, or whether they are two maiden 
ladies and Mr. Dusante is their brother, or whether 
Mr. Dusante is only a friend of the family, and boards 
60 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


here because no two women ought to live in such a 
lonely place without a man in the house.” 

“Well,” said Mrs. Leeks, “whether Mr. Dusante 
comes ba ck w ith two nieces, or a wife and daughter, 
or Mrs. Dusante and a mother-in-law, or a pair of 
sisters, all we’ve got to say is, ‘ The board money’s in 
the ginger-jar,’ and let ’em do their worst.” 

In my capacity as gardener I do not think I earned 
the wages which my companions had allotted to me, 
for I merely gathered and brought in such fruits and 
vegetables as I found in proper condition for use. In 
other ways, however, I made my services valuable to 
our little family. In a closet in my chamber I found 
guns and ammunition, and frequently I was able to 
bring in a few birds. Some of these were pronounced 
by Mrs. Aleshine unsuitable for the table, but others 
she cooked with much skill, and they were found to 
be very good eating. 

Not far from the little wharf which has been men- 
tioned, there stood, concealed by a mass of low-growing 
palms, a boat-house in which was a little skiff hung up 
near the roof. This I let down and launched, and 
found great pleasure in rowing it about the lagoon. 
There was fishing-tackle in the boat-house, which I 
used with success, the lagoon abounding in fish. 
Offerings of this kind were much more acceptable to 
Mrs. Aleshine than birds. 

“There’s some kinds of fishes that’s better than 
others,” said she, “but, as a gen’ral rule, a fish is a 
fish, and if you catch ’em you can eat ’em. But it’s a 
very different thing with birds. When you’ve never 
seen ’em before, how are you goin’ to tell but what 
they’re some kin to an owl, a pigeon-hawk, or a crow? 

61 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


And if I once get it into my head that there’s any 
of that kind of family blood in ’em, they disagree 
with me just the same as if there really was.” 

One afternoon, as I was returning in the boat from 
the point on the other side of the island where I had 
found the rustic seat and Emily’s book, I was sur- 
prised to see Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine standing 
on the end of the little wharf. This was an unusual 
thing for them to do, as they were very industrious 
women and seldom had an idle moment, and it seemed 
to be one of their greatest pleasures to discuss the 
work they were going to do when they had finished 
that on which they were then engaged. I was curi- 
ous, therefore, to know why they should be standing 
thus idly on the wharf, and pulled toward them as 
rapidly as possible. 

When I had rowed near enough to hear them, Mrs. 
Aleshine remarked with cheerful placidity : 

“The Dusantes are cornin’.” 

The tide was quite low, and I could not see over 
the reef, but in a few moments I had grounded the 
skiff and had sprung upon the wharf. Out on the 
ocean, about a mile away, I saw a boat, apparently a 
large one, approaching the island. 

“Now, then, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“you’ll soon see whether it’s his two nieces, or his 
daughters, wife and sister-in-law, or whatever of them 
other relationships which you’ve got so pat.” 

“Yes,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “But, what’s more, 
we’ll find out if he’s goin’ to be satisfied with the 
board money we’ve put in the ginger -jar.” 


62 


/ 


PART III 

When the boat which we saw approaching the island 
had come near enough for us to distinguish its occu- 
pants, we found that it contained five persons. Three 
sat in the stern, and two were rowing. Of those in 
the stern, we soon made out one to be a woman, and 
after putting our eyesight to its very best efforts, we 
were obliged to admit that there was only one female 
on board. 

“Now, that’s disapp’intin’,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “for 
I’ve wondered and wondered which I should like best, 
Emily or Lucille, and now that only one of ’em has 
come, of course I can’t tell.” 

The boat came on, almost directly toward the pas- 
sageway in the reef, and it was not long before the two 
women had been able to decide that Mr. Dusante was 
an elderly man, and that the lady was moderately 
young, and in all probability his daughter. 

“It may be,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “that the mother, 
whether she was Emily or whether she was Lucille, 
has died, and for that reason they are cornin’ back 
sooner than they expected.” 

“Well, I hope you’re wrong there, Barb’ry Ale- 
shine,” said Mrs. Leeks, “for they’ll see lots of things 
63 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


here that will freshen np their affliction, and that 
won’t make ’em any too lively people to be with.” 

“On the other hand,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “it may 
be that Emily, or else Lucille, has got married, and 
has gone away with her husband to travel, and by the 
time she’s got a little baby she’ll come here to live on 
account of the sea air for the child, and that’ll make 
the house pleasant, Mrs. Leeks.” 

“I’d like to know how long you expect to live here,” 
said Mrs. Leeks, regarding her friend with some 
severity. 

“That’s not for me to say,” replied Mrs. Aleshine, 
“knowin’ nothin’ about it. But this I will say — that 
I hope they have brought along with them some in- 
digo blue, for I nearly used np all there was the last 
time I washed.” 

During this dialogue I had been thinking that it 
was a very strange thing for the owners of this place 
to visit their island in such a fashion. Why should 
they be in an open boat? And where did they come 
from? Wherever they might live, it was not at all 
probable that they would choose to be rowed from 
that point to this. From the general character and 
appointments of the house in which we had found a 
refuge, it was quite plain that its owners were people 
in good circumstances, who were in the habit of at- 
tending to their domestic affairs in a very orderly and 
proper way. It was to be presumed that it was their 
custom to come here in a suitable vessel, and to bring 
with them the stores needed during their intended 
stay. Now, there could be little or nothing in that 
boat, and, on the whole, I did not believe it contained 
the owners of this island. 


64 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


It would not do, however, to assume anything of 
the kind. There might have been a disaster. In fact, 
I knew nothing about it, but it was my immediate 
duty to go and meet these people at the passage, for 
if they were unable to unlock the bars, their boat 
could not enter, and I must ferry them across the 
lagoon. Without communicating my doubts to my 
companions, I hurried into the skiff, and pulled as 
far as possible into the passage through the reef. The 
bars, of which there were more than I at first sup- 
posed, were so arranged that it was impossible for a 
boat to go in or out at any stage of the tide. 

I had been there but a few minutes when the boat 
from without came slowly in between the rocks, and 
almost as soon as I saw it, its progress was suddenly 
stopped by a sunken bar. 

“Hello ! 77 cried several men at once. 

“ Hello ! 77 cried I, in return. “Have you the key 
to these bars f 77 

A stout man with a red beard stood up in the stern. 

“Key ? 77 said he. “ What key?” 

“Then you do not belong here ? 77 said I. “Who are 
you ? 77 

At this, the gentleman who was sitting by the lady 
arose to his feet. He was a man past middle age, 
rather tall and slim, and when he stood up the slight 
rolling of the boat made him stagger, and he came 
near falling. 

“You 7 d better sit down, sir , 77 said the man with the 
red beard, who I saw was a sailor. “You can talk 
better that way . 77 

The gentleman now seated himself, and thus ad- 
dressed me : 


65 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“I am, sir, the Reverend Mr. Enderton, lately mis- 
sionary to Nanfouchong, China, and this is my daugh- 
ter, Miss Enderton. We are returning to the United 
States by way of the Sandwich Islands, and took pas- 
sage in a sailing-vessel for Honolulu. About two 
weeks ago this vessel, in some way which I do not 
understand, became disabled—” 

“ Rotten forem’st,” interrupted the man with the 
red beard, “which give way in a gale. Strained and 
leaky, besides.” 

“I did not know the mast was rotten,” said the 
gentleman, “but, since the occasion of our first really 
serviceable wind, she has been making very unsatis- 
factory progress. And, more than that, the whole 
force of seamen was employed night and day in en- 
deavoring to keep the water out of the tea, thereby 
causing such a thumping and pounding that sleep was 
out of the question. Add to this the fact that our 
meals became very irregular, and were sometimes 
entirely overlooked—” 

“Prog was gettin’ mighty short,” interpolated the 
red-bearded man. 

“You can easily discern, sir,” continued the gentle- 
man, “that it was impossible for myself and my daugh- 
ter to remain longer on that vessel, on which we were 
the only passengers. I therefore requested the cap- 
tain to put us ashore at the nearest land, and, after 
more than a week of delay and demur, he consented 
to do so.” 

“Couldn’t do it,” said the man, “till there was land 
nigh enough.” 

“The captain informed me,” continued the gentle- 
man, “that this island was inhabited, and that I could 
66 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


here find shelter and repose until a vessel could be sent 
from Honolulu to take me off. He furnished me with 
this boat and three seamen, one of whom/ 7 pointing 
to the red-bearded man, “is a coxswain. We have 
been rowing ever since early this morning, with but 
a very moderate quantity of food and much discom- 
fort. Now, sir, you have heard my story, and I ask 
you, as one man to another, if you still intend to bar 
your water-gates against us ? ” 

“I did not bar the gates,” I said, “and I would 
gladly unlock them if I could. I belong to a ship- 
wrecked party who took refuge here some two weeks 
ago.” 

“How did you get in?” hastily inquired the red- 
bearded coxswain. 

“Our boat sunk when we were within sight of the 
island, and we came here on life-preservers, and so 
got under the bars.” 

The two men who had been rowing now turned 
suddenly and looked at me. They both had black 
beards, and they both exclaimed at the same moment, 
“By George ! ” 

“I won’t stop here to tell any more of our story,” 
said I. “The great point now is to get you all ashore 
and have you cared for.” 

“That’s so ! ” said the coxswain, and the two sailors 
murmured, “Ay, ay, sir.” 

The bar which stopped the progress of the larger 
boat was just under the surface of the water, while 
another a foot above the water kept my skiff about 
six feet distant from the other boat. There was some 
loose flooring in the bottom of the coxswain’s boat, 
and he ordered two of the boards taken out, and with 
67 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


them a bridge was made, one end resting on the bow 
of the larger boat, and the other on the iron bar by 
my skiff. 

“Now,” said the coxswain, “let the lady go first.” 

The elderly gentleman arose, as if he would prefer 
to take the lead ; but his daughter, who had not yet 
spoken a word, was passed forward by the coxswain, 
steadied over the bridge by one of the sailors, and 
assisted by me into the skiff. Then her father came 
aboard, and I rowed with them to the wharf. 

Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine came forward most 
cordially to meet them. 

“Mr. Dusante, I suppose?” said Mrs. Leeks, while 
Mrs. Aleshine hurriedly whispered in my ear, “Is it 
Lucille or Emily ? ” 

As quickly as possible I explained the situation. 
For a few moments Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine 
stood speechless. Nothing which had happened to 
them, the wreck of the steamer, the sinking of the 
boat, or our experience with life-preservers, affected 
them so much as this disappointment in regard to the 
problem of the Dusante family. Travel by sea was 
all novel and strange to them, and they had expected 
all sorts of things to which they were not accustomed, 
but they had never imagined that fate would be so 
hard upon them as to snatch away the solution of this 
mystery just as they were about to put their hands 
upon it. But, in spite of this sudden blow, the two 
good women quickly recovered themselves, and with 
hearty and kindly words hurried the missionary and 
his daughter to the house, while I went to bring over 
the men. 

I found the three sailors busy in securing their boat 
68 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


so that it would not be injured by the rocks during 
the rising and falling of the tide. When they had 
finished this job, they had to do a good deal of scram- 
bling before they reached my skiff. 

“We thought at first, sir/ 7 said the coxswain, as I 
rowed them across the lagoon, “that it was all gammon 
about your not livin’ here, and havin’ no keys to them 
bars. But we’ve come to the ’pinion that if you’d been 
able to unlock ’em you’d have done it sooner than 
take all this trouble.” 

I now related my story more fully, and the men 
were greatly astonished when they heard that my 
companions in this adventure were two women. 
Upon my asking the coxswain why he had come to 
this island, he replied that his captain had heard that 
people lived on it, although he knew nothing about 
them, and that, as it would be almost impossible to 
get his brig here with the wind that was then pre- 
vailing, and as he did not wish to go out of his course 
anyway, he made up his mind that he would rather 
lose the services of three men than keep that mis- 
sionary on board a day longer. 

“You see, sir,” said the coxswain, as we went ashore, 
“the parson wouldn’t never take it into account that 
we were short of prog, and leakin’ like Sam Hill. And 
because things was uncomfortable he growled up and 
he growled down, till he was wuss for the spirits of 
the men than the salt water cornin’ in or the hard- 
tack givin’ out, and there was danger, if he wasn’t got 
rid of, that he’d be pitched overboard and left to take 
his chances for a whale. And then, by sendin’ us along, 
that give the crew three half-rations a day extry, and 
that’ll count for a good deal in the fix they’re in.” 

69 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


When I reached the house I took the men into the 
kitchen, where Mrs. Aleshine already had the table 
spread. There were bread and cold meat, while the 
tea-kettle steamed by the fire. In a very short time 
three happy mariners sat round that table, while Mrs. 
Aleshine, with beaming face, attended to their wants, 
and plied them with innumerable questions. They 
had not finished eating when Mrs. Leeks entered the 
kitchen. 

“I put that minister and his daughter in the two 
front bedrooms,” said she to me, after hospitably 
greeting the three men, “ which me and Mrs. Aleshine 
had run and got ready for the Dusantes as soon as you 
went in your boat to meet ’em. The young lady was 
mighty nigh worn out, and glad enough of the tea and 
things, and to get into bed. But the gentleman he 
wanted a soft-boiled egg, and when I told him I 
hadn’t come across no hen-house yet on this island, he 
looked at me as if he didn’t half believe me, and 
thought I was keepin’ the eggs to sell.” 

“ Which it would be ridiculous to do,” said Mrs. 
Aleshine, “in the middle of an ocean like this.” 

“If he let you off with soft-b’iled eggs, ma’am,” said 
the coxswain, very respectfully, “I think you may 
bless your stars.” 

“Ay, ay, sir,” said the two sailors with black 
beards. 

Miss Ruth Enderton and her father did not make 
their appearance until the next morning at breakfast- 
time. I found the young lady a very pleasant person. 
She was rather slight in figure, inclined to be pretty, 
and was what might be called a warm- colored blonde. 
Her disposition was quite sociable, and she almost im- 
70 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


mediately stepped into the favor of Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine. 

Mr. Enderton, however, was a person of another 
sort. He was a prim and somewhat formal man, and 
appeared to be entirely self-engrossed, with very 
vague notions in regard to his surroundings. He was 
not by any means an ill-tempered man, being rather 
inclined to be placid than otherwise, but he gave so 
little attention to circumstances and events that he 
did not appear to understand why he should be in- 
commoded by the happenings of life. I have no doubt 
that he made existence on board the disabled brig a 
hundred times more unsatisfactory than it would 
otherwise have been. With his present condition he 
seemed very well satisfied, and it was quite plain that 
he looked upon Mrs. Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, and myself 
as the proprietors of the establishment, having for- 
gotten, or having paid no attention to, my statement 
in regard to our coming here. 

As soon as she thought it fit and proper— and this 
moment arrived in the course of the first forenoon— 
Mrs. Leeks spoke to Mr. Enderton on the subject of 
the board which should be paid to the Husantes. She 
stated the arrangements we had made in the matter, 
and then told him that as he and his daughter had 
the best accommodations in the house, each occupying 
a large, handsome room, she thought that he should 
pay fifteen dollars a week for the two. 

“How, if your daughter/’ she continued, “can do 
anything about the house which will be of real help, 
though for the life of me I don’t see what she can find 
to do with me and Mrs. Aleshine here, somethin’ 
might be took off on account of her services. But of 
71 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


course you, sir, can’t do nothin’, unless you was to 
preach on Sundays, and not knowin’ what denomina- 
tion the Dusantes belong to, it wouldn’t be fair to take 
their money to pay for the preachin’ of doctrines 
which, perhaps, they don’t believe in.” 

This financial proposal aroused Mr. Enderton’s op- 
position. “When I came here, madam,” he said, “I 
did not expect to pay any board whatever, and I think, 
moreover, that your rates are exorbitant. In Nan- 
fouchong, if I remember rightly, the best of board did 
not cost more than two or three dollars a week.” 

“I don’t want to say anything, sir,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“which might look disrespectful, but as long as I’ve 
got a conscience inside of me I’m not goin’ to stay 
here and see the Dusantes lose money by Chinese 
cheapness.” 

“I don’t know anything about the Dusantes,” said 
Mr. Enderton, “but I am not going to pay fifteen dol- 
lars a week for board for myself and daughter.” 

The discussion lasted for some time, with consid- 
erable warmth on each side, and was at last ended 
by Mr. Enderton agreeing to pay board at the same 
rate as the two women and me, and each week to de- 
posit in the ginger-jar eight dollars for himself and 
daughter. 

“You may not care to remember, sir,” said Mrs. 
Leeks, with cold severity, “that Mr. Craig and me and 
Mrs. Aleshine puts in services besides, although, to be 
sure, they don’t go into the jar.” 

“I only remember,” said Mr. Enderton, “that I am 
paying an unjustifiable price as it is.” 

Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, however, were not at 
all of this opinion, and they agreed that, if it should 
72 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


be in their power, they would see to it that the Du- 
santes lost nothing by this close-fisted missionary. 

After dinner— and I may remark that the new- 
comers were not consulted in regard to the hours for 
meals— Mrs. Leeks had an interview with the coxswain 
on the subject of board for himself and his two com- 
panions. This affair, however, was very quickly set- 
tled, for the three mariners had among them only one 
dollar and forty- three cents, and this, the coxswain 
explained, they would like to keep for tobacco. It 
was therefore settled that, as the three sailors could 
pay no money, as much work as possible should be got 
out of them, and to this plan they agreed heartily and 
cheerfully. 

“ There’s only one thing we’ll ask, ma’am,” said the 
coxswain to Mrs. Leeks, “and that is that we be put 
in a different mess from the parson. We’ve now eat 
two meals with the passengers, and me and my mates 
is agreed that that’s about as much as we can go.” 

After this, therefore, the three men had their meals 
in the kitchen, where they were generally joined by 
Mrs. Aleshine, who much delighted in their company. 
But she made it a point sometimes to sit down with 
us in the dining-room, merely to show that she had as 
much right there as anybody. 

“As to the work for them sailormen,” said Mrs, 
Aleshine, “I don’t see what they’re goin’ to do. Of 
course they don’t know nothin’ about gardenin’, and 
it seems to me that the best thing to be done is to put 
’em to fishin’.” 

Mrs. Leeks considered this a good suggestion, and 
accordingly the coxswain and his companions were 
told that thereafter they would be expected to fish for 
73 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


eight hours a day, Sundays excepted. This plan, 
however, did not work very well. During the first 
two days the sailors caught so many fish that, although 
the fishermen themselves had excellent appetites for 
such food, it was found utterly impossible to consume 
what they brought in. Consequently, it was ordered 
that thereafter they should catch only as many fish as 
should be needed, and then make themselves useful by 
assisting Mrs. Aleshine and Mrs. Leeks in any manner 
they might direct. 

I found it quite easy to become acquainted with 
Miss Ruth Enderton, as she was very much inclined to 
conversation. “It’s ever so long,” she said, “since 
I’ve had anybody to talk to.” 

She had left the United States when she was quite 
a little girl, and had since seen nothing of her native 
land. She was, consequently, full of questions about 
America, although quite willing to talk of her life in 
China. Society, at least such kind as she had ever 
cared for, had been extremely scarce in the little mis- 
sionary station at which she had lived so long, and 
now, coming from a wearisome sojourn on a disabled 
sailing-vessel, with no company but the crew and a 
preoccupied father, she naturally was delighted to get 
among people she could talk to. With Mrs. Leeks, 
Mrs. Aleshine, and myself she soon became very 
friendly, and showed herself to be a most lively and 
interesting young person. 

I did all that I could to make Miss Ruth’s time pass 
agreeably. I rowed with her on the lagoon, taught 
her to fish, and showed her all the pleasant points on 
the island which could be easily reached by walking. 
Mr. Enderton gave us very little of his company, for, 
74 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


having discovered that there was a library in the 
house, he passed most of his time in that room. 

“ You have made a very fair selection of books, sir,” 
he remarked to me, “but it may readily be conceived, 
from the character of the works, that your tastes are 
neither ecclesiastic nor scientific.” 

Several times I explained to him the ownership of 
the library and the house, but he immediately forgot 
what I had said, or paid no attention to it. When he 
paid his board at the end of the week, he handed the 
money to Mrs. Leeks, and although before his eyes 
she put it into the ginger-jar, beneath the paper of 
fish-hooks, I know very well that he considered he 
was paying it to her for her own use and behoof. He 
was comfortably lodged, he had all that he needed— 
and very nearly all that he wanted— to eat, and I do not 
know that I ever saw a man more contented with his lot. 

As for the coxswain and the two sailors, they had a 
very pleasant time of it, but Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine would not think of such a thing as allowing 
them to eat the bread of the Husantes in idleness. 
After they had been with us a few days, Mrs. Leeks 
told me that she thought she could show the coxswain 
and his mates how to dig and gather the garden stuff 
which was daily needed. 

“To be sure,” said she, “that work goes ag’in’ part 
of your board, but fishin’ and bringin’ in fire-wood 
don’t take up quarter of the time of them sailors, and 
so that the garden work is done, I don’t suppose it 
matters to the Husantes who does it. And that’ll give 
you more time to make things pleasant for Miss Ruth, 
for, as far as I can see, there isn’t a thing for her to 
do, even if she knows how to do it.” 

75 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


The three mariners were more than willing to do 
anything desired by Mrs. Leeks or Mrs. Aleshine, to 
whom they looked up with great admiration and re- 
spect. The latter was their favorite, not only because 
she was with them a great deal during their meals and 
at other times, but because of her genial nature and 
easy sociability. The men were always trying to 
lighten her labors, and to do something that would 
please her. 

One of them climbed to the top of what she called 
a “palm-leaf-fan tree,” and brought therefrom some 
broad leaves, which he cut and trimmed and sewed, in 
true nautical fashion, until he made some fans which 
were heavy and clumsy, but, as he said, they would 
stand half a gale of wind if she chose to raise it. The 
coxswain caught or trapped two sea-birds, and having 
clipped their wings, he spent days in endeavoring to 
tame them, hoping to induce them, as far as the power 
in them lay, to take the place of the barn-yard fowls 
whose absence Mrs. Aleshine continually deplored. 
Every evening the two black-bearded sailors would 
dance' hornpipes for her, much to her diversion and 
delight. 

“I’ve often heard,” she remarked, “that in these hot 
cocoanut countries the tricks of the monkeys was 
enough to keep everybody on a steady laugh, but I’m 
sure sailormen is a great deal better. When you get 
tired of their pranks and their tomfooleries you can 
tell ’em to stop, which with monkeys you can’t.” 

It was about ten days after the arrival of the mis- 
sionary’s party when, as I was going to get ready the 
boat in which Miss Ruth and myself generally rowed 
in the cool of the evening, I saw Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 

76 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


Aleshine sitting on the beach in the shade of some low- 
growing trees. They were evidently waiting for me, 
and as soon as I appeared Mrs. Leeks beckoned to me, 
whereupon I joined them. 

“Sit down/’ said Mrs. Leeks. “There’s somethin’ I 
want to talk to you about. Mrs. Aleshine and me 
have made up our minds that you ought to be hurried 
up a little about poppin’ the question to Miss Ruth.” 

This remark astounded me. “Popping the ques- 
tion ! ” I exclaimed. 

“Yes,” continued Mrs. Leeks, “and me and Mrs. 
Aleshine know very well that you haven’t done it 
yet, for both of us havin’ been through that sort of 
thing ourselves, we know the signs of it after it has 
happened.” 

“We wouldn’t say nothin’ to hurry you,” added 
Mrs. Aleshine, “if it wasn’t that the groceries, espe- 
cially the flour, is a-gettin’ low. We’ve been talkin’ 
to them sailormen, and they’re pretty well agreed 
that there’s no use now in expectin’ their captain to 
send for ’em, for if he was a-goin’ to do it at all, he’d 
have done it before this. And perhaps he never got 
nowhere himself, in which case he couldn’t. They 
say the best thing we can all do when the vittles 
has nearly give out, provided the Dusantes don’t come 
back in time, is to take what’s left, and all get into 
their big boat, and row away to that island, which I 
don’t know just how far it is, that the captain of our 
ship was goin’ to. There we can stay pretty comfort- 
able till a ship comes along and takes us off.” 

“But what has all that to do with Miss Ruth and 
me?” I asked. 

“Do ? ” cried Mrs. Leeks. “It has everything to do. 

77 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


When it’s all settled and fixed between you and 
Miss Ruth, there’ll be nothin’ to hinder us from get- 
tin’ ready to start when we please.” 

“But, my dear friends,” I said with much earnest- 
ness, “I have not the slightest idea of proposing to 
Miss Enderton.” 

“That’s just what I said to Mrs. Aleshine,” said Mrs. 
Leeks, “and that’s the reason we let our irons cool, 
and come out here to talk to you. It’s just like a 
young man to keep puttin’ off that sort of thing, but 
this can’t be put off.” 

“That’s so ! ” cried Mrs. Aleshine, “and I’ll just let 
you see how the matter stands. There is housekeepers 
who allows a pint of flour a day to each person, but 
this is for farm-hands and people who works hard and 
eats hearty, and I’ve found that three quarters of a 
pint will do very well, if the dough is kneaded con- 
scientious and made up light, so that it’ll rise well 
when it’s put into the oven. Now I’ve measured all 
the flour that’s left, and me and Mrs. Leeks we’ve 
calculated that, allowin’ three quarters of a pint of 
flour a day to each one of us, there’s just eight days 
more that we can stay here— that is, if the Dusantes 
don’t come back before that time, which, of course, 
can’t be counted on. So you can see for yourself, Mr. 
Craig, there’s no time to be lost, even considerin’ that 
she hasn’t to make up anything to be married in.” 

“No,” said Mrs. Leeks. “Just for us and three 
sailors, that wouldn’t be needed.” 

I looked from one to the other in dumb astonish- 
ment. Mrs. Leeks gave me no time to say anything. 

“In common cases,” said she, “this might all be put 
off till we got somewhere, but it won’t do now. Here 
78 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


you are, with everything in your own hands ; hut just 
get away from here, and there’s an end of that. She’s 
as pretty a girl as you’ll see in a month of Sundays, 
and if she leaves here without your gettin’ her, there’s 
no knowin’ who’ll snap her up. When we’ve got to 
that island, you may see her once a week, but maybe 
you "won’t. She may go away in one ship, and you in 
another, and there may be somebody right there— a 
missionary, for all I know— who’ll have her before 
you have a chance to put in a word.” 

“And that’s not the worst of it,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine. “Supposin’ them Dusantes come back before 
we go. There’s no knowin’ what that Mr. Dusante is. 
He may be a brother of Emily and Lucille. And 
what sort of a chance would you have then, I’d like 
to know, with Miss Ruth right here in his own house, 
and he ownin’ the rowboat, and everything? Or it 
may be he’s a widower, and that’ll be a mighty sight 
worse, I can tell you.” 

“No matter whether they’re widowers or never been 
married,” said Mrs. Leeks, “there’ll be plenty that’ll 
want her as soon as they see her ; and if it isn’t for the 
girl’s own pretty face, it’ll be for her father’s money.” 

“Her father’s money ! ” I exclaimed. “What are 
you talking of ? ” 

“There’s no good tellin’ me anything about that,” 
said Mrs. Leeks, very decidedly. “There never was 
a man as close-fisted as Mr. Enderton who hadn’t 
money.” 

“And you know as well as we do,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “that in them countries where he’s been, the 
heathens worship idols of silver and idols of gold, and 
when them heathens is converted, don’t you suppose 
79 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


the missionaries get any of that? I expect that Mr. 
Enderton has converted thousands of heathens.” 

At this suggestion I laughed outright. But Mrs. 
Leeks reproved me. 

“Now, Mr. Craig,” said she, “this ain’t no laughin’ 
matter. What me and Mrs. Aleshine is sayin’ is for 
your good, and for the good of Miss Ruth along with 
you. I haven’t much opinion of her father, hut his 
money is as good as anybody else’s, and though they 
had to leave their trunks on board their ship, what 
little they brought with ’em shows that they’ve been 
used to havin’ the best there is. Mrs. Aleshine and 
me has set up till late into the night talkin’ over this 
thing, and we are both of one mind that you two need 
never expect to have the same chance ag’in that you’ve 
got now. The very fact that the old gentleman’s a 
preacher, and can marry you on the spot, ought to 
make you tremble when you think of the risks you 
are runnin’ by puttin’ it off.” 

“I’ve got to go into the house now to see about 
supper,” said Mrs. Aleshine, rising, “and I hope 
you’ll remember, Mr. Craig, when your bread is on 
your plate, and Miss Ruth is sittin’ opposite to you, 
that three quarters of a pint of flour a day is about as 
little as anybody can live on, and that time is flyin’.” 

Mrs. Leeks now also rose $ but I detained the two 
for a moment. 

“I hope you have not said anything to Miss Ender- 
ton on this subject,” I said. 

“No,” replied Mrs. Aleshine, “we haven’t. We was 
both agreed that as you’re the one that’s to do what’s 
to be done, you was the one to be spoke to. And 
havin’ been through it ourselves, we understand well 
80 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


enough that the more a woman don’t know nothin’ 
about it, the more likely she is to be ketched if she 
wants to be.” 

The two women left me in an amused but also 
somewhat annoyed state of mind. I had no intention 
whatever of proposing to Miss Ruth Enderton. She 
was a charming girl, very bright and lively, and 
withal, I had reason to believe, very sensible. But it 
was not yet a fortnight since I first saw her, and no 
thought of marrying her had entered into my head. 
Had Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, or, more impor- 
tant than all, had Miss Enderton, any reason to be- 
lieve that I was acting the part of a lover I 

The latter portion of this question was almost im- 
mediately answered to my satisfaction by the ap- 
pearance of Miss Ruth, who came skipping down to 
me and calling out to me in that free and hearty 
manner with which a woman addresses a friend or 
near acquaintance, but never a suspected lover. She 
betrayed no more notion of the Leeks and Aleshine 
scheme than on the day I first met her. 

But, as I was rowing her over the lagoon, I felt a 
certain constraint which I had not known before. 
There was no ground whatever for the wild imagin- 
ings of the two women, but the fact that they had 
imagined interfered very much with the careless free- 
dom with which I had previously talked to Miss Ruth. 
I do not think, however, that she noticed any change 
in me, for she chatted and laughed, and showed, as she 
had done from the first, the rare delight which she 
took in this novel island life. 

When we returned to the house, we were met by 
Mrs. Aleshine. “I am goin’ to give you two your 
81 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


supper / 7 she said, “on that table there under the 
tree. We all had ours a little earlier than common, 
as the sailormen seemed hungry, and I took your 
father’s to him in the libr’ry, where I expect he’s 
a-sittin’ yet, holdin’ a book in one hand and stirrin’ 
his tea with the other, till he’s stirred out nearly 
every drop on the floor j which, however, won’t 
matter at all, for in the mornin’ I’ll rub up that floor 
till it’s as bright as new.” 

This plan delighted Miss Ruth, but I saw in it the 
beginning of the workings of a deep-laid scheme. I 
was just about to sit down when Mrs. Aleshine said to 
me in a low voice, as she left us : 

“Remember that the first three quarters of a pint 
apiece begins now ! ” 

“Don’t you think that Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
shine are perfectly charming? ” said Miss Ruth, as she 
poured out the tea. “They always seem to be trying 
to think of some kind thing to do for other people.” 

I agreed entirely with Miss Enderton’s remark, but 
I could not help thinking of the surprise she would 
feel if she knew of the kind thing that these two 
women were trying to do for her. 

“Have you taken any steps yet? ” asked Mrs. Leeks 
of me, the next day. On my replying that I had taken 
no steps of the kind to which I supposed she alluded, 
she walked away with a very grave and serious face. 

A few hours later Mrs. Aleshine came to me. 
“There’s another reason for hurry in’ up,” said she. 
“Them sailormen seems able to do without ’most 
anything in this world except tobacco, and Mrs. Leeks 
has been sellin’ it to ’em out of a big box she found in 
a closet up-stairs, at five cents a teacupful,— which I 
82 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


think is awful cheap, hut she says prices in islands is 
always low,— and wrapping the money up in a paper, 
with 1 Cash paid by sailormen for tobacco ’ written on 
it, and puttin’ it into the ginger-jar with the board 
money. But their dollar and forty-three cents is 
nearly gone, and Mrs. Leeks she says that not a whiff 
of Mr. Dusante’s tobacco shall they have if they can’t 
pay for it. And when they have nothin’ to smoke 
they’ll be wantin’ to leave this island just as quick as 
they can, without waitin’ for the flour to give out.” 

Here was another pressure brought to bear upon 
me. Not only the waning flour but the rapidly dis- 
appearing tobacco money was used as a weapon to 
urge me forward to the love-making upon which Mrs. 
Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine had set their hearts. 

I was in no hurry to leave the island, and hoped 
very much that when we did go we should depart in 
some craft more comfortable than a ship’s boat. In 
order, therefore, to prevent any undue desire to leave 
on the part of the sailors, I gave them money enough 
to buy a good many teacupfuls of tobacco. By this 
act I think I wounded the feelings of Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine, although I had no idea that such would 
be the effect of my little gift. They said nothing to 
me on the subject, but their looks and manners indi- 
cated that they thought I had not been acting honor- 
ably. For two days they had very little to say to me, 
and then Mrs. Aleshine came to me to make what I 
suppose was their supreme effort. 

“Mrs. Leeks and me is a-goin’ to try,” she said,— and 
as she spoke she looked at me with a very sad expres- 
sion and a watery appearance about the eyes,— “to 
stretch out the time for you a little longer. We are 
83 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


goin’ to make them sailormen eat more fish. As 
for me and her, we’ll go pretty much without bread, 
and make it up, as well as we can, on other things. 
You and Miss Ruth and the parson can each have your 
three quarters of a pint of flour a day, just the same 
as ever, and what we save ought to give you three or 
four days longer.” 

This speech moved me deeply. I could not allow 
these two kind-hearted women to half starve them- 
selves in order that I might have more time to woo, 
and I spoke very earnestly on the subject to Mrs. 
Aleshine, urging her to give up the fanciful plans 
which she and Mrs. Leeks had concocted. 

“Let us drop this idea of love-making,” I said, 
“which is the wildest kind of vagary, and all live 
happily together, as we did before. If the provisions 
give out before the Dusantes come back, I suppose we 
shall have to leave in the boat. But, until that time 
comes, let us enjoy life here as much as we can, and 
be the good friends that we used to be.” 

I might as well have talked to one of the palm-trees 
which waved over us. 

“As I said before,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine, “what 
is saved from Mrs. Lecks’s and mine and the three 
sailormen’s three quarters of a pint apiece ought to 
give you four days more.” And she went into the 
house. 

All this time the Reverend Mr. Enderton had sat 
and read in the library, or meditatively had walked 
the beach with a book in his hand, while the three 
mariners had caught fish, performed their other work, 
and lain in the shade, smoking their pipes in peace. 
Miss Ruth and I had taken our daily rows and walks, 
84 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


and had enjoyed our usual hours of pleasant con- 
verse, and all the members of the little colony seemed 
happy and contented except Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
shine. These two went gravely and sadly about their 
work, and the latter asked no more for the hornpipes 
and the sea-songs of her sailormen. 

But, for some unaccountable reason, Mr. Enderton’s 
condition of tranquil abstraction did not continue. 
He suddenly grew fretful and discontented. He found 
fault with his food and his accommodations, and in- 
stead of spending the greater part of the day in the 
library, as had been his wont, he took to wandering 
about the island, generally with two or three books 
under his arm, sometimes sitting down in one place, 
and sometimes in another, and then rising suddenly 
to go grumbling into the house. 

One afternoon, as Miss Ruth and I were in the skiff 
in the lagoon, we saw Mr. Enderton approaching us, 
walking on the beach. As soon as he was near enough 
for us to hear him, he shouted to his daughter : 

“Ruth, come out of that boat ! If you want to 
take the air, I should think you might as well walk 
with me as to go rowing round with— with anybody.” 

This rude and heartless speech made my blood boil, 
while my companion turned pale with mortification. 
The man had never made the slightest objection to 
our friendly intercourse, and this unexpected attack 
was entirely indefensible. 

“Please put me ashore,” said Miss Ruth, and with- 
out a word, for I could not trust myself to speak, I 
landed her ; and petulantly complaining that she never 
gave him one moment of her society, her father led 
her away. 


85 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


An hour later, my soul still in a state of turmoil, 
but with the violence of its tossings somewhat abated, 
I entered one of the paths which led through the 
woods. After a few turns, I reached a point where 
I could see for a long distance to the other end of 
the path, which opened out upon the beach. There I 
perceived Mr. Enderton sitting upon the little bench 
on which I had found Emily’s book. His back was 
toward me, and he seemed to be busily reading. 
About midway between him and myself I saw Miss 
Ruth slowly walking toward me. Her eyes were fixed 
upon the ground, and she had not seen me. 

Stepping to one side, I awaited her approach. 
When she came near I accosted her. 

“Miss Ruth,” said I, “has your father been talking 
to you of me 1 ” 

She looked up quickly, evidently surprised at my 
being there. “Yes,” she said. “He has told me that 
it is not— suitable that I should be with you as much 
as I have been since we came here.” 

There was something in this remark that roused 
again the turmoil which had begun to subside within 
me. There was so much that was unjust and tyranni- 
cal, and— what perhaps touched me still deeper— there 
was such a want of consideration and respect in this 
behavior of Mr. Enderton’s, that it brought to the 
front some very incongruous emotions. I had been 
superciliously pushed aside, and I found I was angry. 
Something was about to be torn from me, and I found 
I loved it. 

“Ruth,” said I, stepping up close to her, “do you 
like to be with me as you have been f ” 

If Miss Ruth had not spent such a large portion of 
86 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


her life in the out-of- the- world village of Nanfouchong ; 
if she had not lived among those simple-hearted mis- 
sionaries, where it was never necessary to conceal her 
emotions or her sentiments $ if it had not been that 
she never had had emotions or sentiments that it was 
necessary to conceal, I do not believe that when she 
answered me she would have raised her eyes to me 
with a look in them of a deep-blue sky seen through 
a sort of Indian-summer mist, and that, gazing thus, 
she would have said : 

“Of course I like it.” 

“Then let us make it suitable,” I said, taking both 
her hands in mine. 

There was another look, in which the skies shone 
clear and bright, and then, in a moment, it was all 
done. 

About five minutes after this I said to her, “Ruth, 
shall we go to your father? ” 

“Certainly,” she answered ; and together we walked 
along the thickly shaded path. 

The missionary still sat with his back toward us, 
and being so intent upon his book, I found that by 
keeping my eyes upon him it was perfectly safe to 
walk with my arm around Ruth until we had nearly 
reached him. Then I took her hand in mine, and we 
stepped in front of him. 

“Father,” said Ruth, “Mr. Craig and I are engaged 
to be married.” 

There was something very plump about this remark, 
and Mr. Enderton immediately raised his eyes from 
his book and fixed them first upon his daughter and 
then upon me $ then he let them drop, and through 
the narrow space between us he gazed out over the sea. 

87 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“Well, father / 7 said Ruth, a little impatiently, 
“what do yon think of it ? 77 

Mr. Ei^derton leaned forward and picked up a leaf 
from the ground ; this he placed between the open 
pages of his book, and closed it. 

“It seems to me , 77 he said, “that on many accounts 
the arrangement you propose may be an excellent one. 
Yes , 77 he added more decidedly, “I think it will do 
very well indeed. I shall not be at all surprised if we 
are obliged to remain on this island for a considerable 
time, and, for my part, I have no desire to leave it at 
present. And when you shall place yourself, Ruth, in 
a position in which you will direct the domestic econ- 
omies of the establishment, I hope that you will see to 
it that things generally are made more compatible 
with comfort and gentility, and, as regards the table, 
I may add with palatability . 77 

Ruth and I looked at each other, and then together 
we promised that as far as in us lay we would try to 
make the life of Mr. Enderton a happy one, not only 
while we were on the island, but ever afterwards. 

We were promising a great deal, but at that mo- 
ment we felt very grateful. 

Then he stood up, shook us both by the hands, and 
we left him to his book. 

When Ruth and I came walking out of the woods 
and approached the house, Mrs. Aleshine was standing 
outside, not far from the kitchen. When she saw us 
she gazed steadily at us for a few moments, a strange 
expression coming over her face. Then she threw up 
both her hands, and without a word she turned and 
rushed indoors. 

We had not reached the house before Mrs. Leeks 
88 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


and Mrs. Aleshine came hurrying out together. Run- 
ning up to us with a haste and an excitement I had 
never seen in either of them, first one and then the 
other took Ruth into her arms and kissed her with 
much earnestness. Then they turned upon me and 
shook my hands with hearty vigor, expressing, more 
by their looks and actions than by their words, a tri- 
umphant approbation of what I had done. 

“The minute I laid eyes on you / 7 said Mrs. Aleshine, 
“I knowed it was all right. There wasn’t no need of 
askin’ questions.” 

I now became fearful lest, in the exuberance of their 
satisfaction, these good women might reveal to Ruth 
the plans they had laid for our matrimonial future, 
and the reluctance I had shown in entering into them. 
My countenance must have expressed my apprehen- 
sions, for Mrs. Aleshine, her ruddy face glowing with 
warmth, both mental and physical, gave me a little 
wink, and drew me to one side. 

“ You needn’t suppose that we’ve ever said anything 
to Miss Ruth, or that we’re goin’ to. It’s a great deal 
better to let her think you did it all yourself.” 

I felt like resenting this imputation upon the inde- 
pendence of my love-making, but at this happy mo- 
ment I did not want to enter into a discussion, and 
therefore merely smiled. 

“I’m so glad, I don’t know how to tell it,” continued 
Mrs. Aleshine, as Mrs. Leeks and Ruth walked toward 
the house. 

I was about to follow, but my companion detained 
me. 

“Have you spoke to the parson?” she asked. 

“Oh, yes,” said I, “and he seems perfectly satisfied. 

89 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


I am rather surprised at this, because of late he has 
been in such a remarkably bad humor. 7 ’ 

“That’s so,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “There’s no gettin’ 
round the fact that he’s been a good deal crosser 
than two sticks. You see, Mr. Craig, Mrs. Leeks and 
me we made up our minds that it wasn’t fair to the 
Dusantes to let that rich missionary go on payin’ 
nothin’ but four dollars a week apiece for him and his 
daughter, and if we couldn’t get no more out of him 
one way, we’d do it another. It was fair enough that 
if he didn’t pay more he ought to get less, and so we 
gave him more fish and not so much bread, the same 
as we did the sailormen ; and we weakened his tea, 
and sent him just so much sugar, and no more $ and as 
for openin’ boxes of sardines for him, which there was 
no reason why they shouldn’t be left here for the 
Dusantes, I just wouldn’t do it, though he said he’d 
got all the fresh fish he wanted when he was in China. 
Then we agreed that it was high time that the 
libr’ry should be cleaned up, and we went to work at 
it, not mindin’ what he said, for it’s no use tellin’ me 
that four dollars a week will pay for a front room and 
good board, and the use of a libr’ry all day. And as 
there wasn’t no need of both of us cleanin’ one room, 
Mrs. Leeks she went into the parlor, where he’d took 
his books, and begun there. Then, again, we shut 
down on Mr. Dusante’s dressin’-gown. There wasn’t 
no sense includin’ the use of that in his four dol- 
lars a week, so we brushed it up, and camphored it, 
and put it away. We just wanted to let him know 
that if he undertook to be skinflinty, he’d better try 
it on somebody else besides us. We could see that he 
was a good deal upset, for if ever a man liked to have 
90 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


things quiet and comfortable around him, and every- 
thing his own way, that man is that missionary. But 
we didn’t care if we did prod him up a little. Mrs. 
Leeks and me we both agreed that it would do him 
good. Why, he’d got into such a way of shettin’ 
himself up in himself that he didn’t even see that 
his daughter was goin’ about with a young man, and 
fixin’ her affections on him more and more every day, 
when he never had no idee, as could be proved by 
witnesses, of marryin’ her.” 

“Mrs. Aleshine,” said I, looking at her very stead- 
fastly, “I believe, after all, that you and Mrs. Leeks 
had your own way in regard to hurrying up this 
matter.” 

“Yes,” said she, with happy complacency, “I 
shouldn’t wonder if we had. Stirrin’ up the parson 
was our last chance, and it wasn’t much trouble to 
do it.” 

Mrs. Leeks, whose manner toward me for the last 
few days had been characterized by cold severity, 
now resumed her former friendly demeanor, although 
she was not willing to let the affair pass over without 
some words of reproach. 

“I must say, Mr. Craig,” she remarked the next 
morning, “that I was gettin’ pretty well outdone with 
you. I was beginnin’ to think that a young man that 
couldn’t see and wouldn’t see what was good for him 
didn’t deserve to have it ; and if Miss Ruth’s father 
had come down with a heavy foot and put an end 
to the whole business, I’m not sure I’d been sorry for 
you. But it’s all right at last, and bygones is bygones. 
And now, what we’ve got to do is to get ready for the 
weddin’.” 


91 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“The wedding ! ” I exclaimed. 

Mrs. Leeks regarded me with an expression in which 
there was something of virtuous indignation and some- 
thing of pity. “Mr. Craig/’ said she, “if there ever 
was anybody that wanted a guardeen, it’s you. Now, 
just let me tell you this : That Mr. Enderton ain’t to 
be trusted no further than you can see him, and not so 
fur, neither, if it can be helped. He’s willin’ for you 
to have Miss Euth now, because he’s pretty much 
made up his mind that we’re goin’ to stay here, and 
as he considers you the master of this island, of course 
he thinks it’ll be for his good for his daughter to be 
mistress of it. For one thing, he wouldn’t expect to 
pay no board then. But just let him get away from 
this island, and just let him set his eyes on some 
smooth-faced young fellow that’ll agree to take him 
into the concern and keep him for nothin’ on books 
and tea, and he’ll just throw you over without winkin’. 
And Miss Euth is not the girl to marry you against 
his will, if he opens the Bible and piles texts on her, 
which he is capable of doin’. If in any way you two 
should get separated when you leave here, there’s no 
knowin’ when you’d ever see each other ag’in, for 
where he’ll take her nobody can tell. He’s more 
willin’ to set down and stay where he finds himself 
comfortable than anybody I’ve met yet.” 

“Of course,” I said, “I’m ready to be married at 
any moment, but I don’t believe Miss Euth and her 
father would consent to anything so speedy.” 

“Don’t you get into the way,” said Mrs. Leeks, “of 
beforehand believin’ this or that. It don’t pay. Just 
you go to her father and talk to him about it, and if 
you and him agree, it’ll be easy enough to make her 
92 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


see the sense of it. You attend to them, and I ? ll see 
that everything is got ready. And you’d better fix 
the day for to-morrow, for we can’t stay here much 
longer, and there’s a lot of house-cleanin’ and bakin’ 
and cookin’ to be done before we go.” 

I took this advice, and broached the subject to Mr. 
Enderton. 

“Well, sir,” said he, laying down his book, “your 
proposition is decidedly odd— I may say, very odd, 
indeed. But it is, perhaps, after all, no odder than 
many things I have seen. Among the various denomi- 
national sects I have noticed occurrences quite as odd 
—quite as odd, sir. For my part, I have no desire 
to object to an early celebration of the matrimonial 
rites. I may say, indeed, that I am of the opinion 
that a certain amount of celerity in this matter will 
conduce to the comfort of all concerned. It has been 
a very unsatisfactory thing to me to see my daughter 
occupying a subordinate position in our little family, 
where she has not even the power to turn household 
affairs into the channels of my comfort. To-morrow, 
I think, will do very well indeed. Even if it should 
rain, I see no reason why the ceremony should be 
postponed.” 

The proposition of a wedding on the morrow was 
not received by Ruth with favor. She was unprepared 
for such precipitancy. But she finally yielded to 
arguments— not so much to mine, I fear, as to those 
offered by Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 

For the rest of that day the three mariners were 
kept very busy, bringing in green things to deck the 
parlor, and doing every imaginable kind of work nec- 
essary to a wedding which Mrs. Aleshine was will- 
93 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


ing to give into their hands. As for herself and her 
good friend, they put themselves upon their mettle as 
providers of festivals. They made cakes, pies, and I 
never knew half so well as the three sailors did how 
many other kinds of good things. Besides all this, 
they assisted Ruth to array herself in some degree in 
a manner becoming a bride. Some light and pretty 
adornments of dress were borrowed from Emily or 
Lucille, they knew not which, and, after having been 
“done up” and fluted and crimped by Mrs. Leeks, 
were incorporated by Ruth into her costume with so 
much taste that on the wedding morning she appeared 
to me to be dressed more charmingly than any bride 
I had ever seen. 

The three sailors had done their own washing and 
ironing, and appeared in cleanly garb, and with hair 
and beards well wet and brushed. Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine put on fresh laundered gowns, and 
Mr. Enderton assumed his most clerical air as he 
stood behind a table in the parlor and married Ruth 
and me. 

“This,” said Mr. Enderton, as we were seated at the 
wedding feast, “is a most creditable display of attrac- 
tive viands, but I may say, my dear Ruth, that I think 
I perceived the influence of the happy event of to-day 
even before it took place. I have lately had a better 
appetite for my food, and have experienced a greater 
enjoyment of my surroundings.” 

“I should think so,” murmured Mrs. Aleshine in my 
ear, “for we’d no sooner knowed that you two were to 
make a match of it than we put an extry spoonful of 
tea into his pot, and stopped scrubbin’ the library.” 

For the next two days all was bustle and work on 
94 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


the island. Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine would not 
consent to depart without leaving everything in the 
best possible order, so that the Dusantes might not be 
dissatisfied with the condition of their house when 
they returned. It was, in fact, the evident desire of 
the two women to gratify their pride in their house- 
wifely abilities by leaving everything better than they 
found it. 

Mr. Enderton was much surprised at these prepara- 
tions for immediate departure. He was very well sat- 
isfied with his life on the island, and had prepared 
his mind for an indefinite continuance of it, with the 
position of that annoying and obdurate Mrs. Leeks 
filled by a compliant and affectionate daughter. He 
had no reasonable cause for complaint, for the whole 
subject of the exhaustion of our supply of provisions, 
and the necessity of an open-boat trip to an inhabited 
island, had been fully discussed before him. But he 
was so entirely engrossed in the consideration of his 
own well-being that this discussion of our plans had 
made no impression upon him. He now became con- 
vinced that a conspiracy had been entered into against 
him, and fell into an unpleasant humor. This, how- 
ever, produced very little effect upon any of us, for 
we were all too busy to notice his whims. But his sud- 
den change of disposition made me understand how 
correct were the opinions of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
shine concerning him. If I had left that island with 
my marriage with Ruth depending upon Mr. Ender- 
ton’s cooperation, my prospects of future happiness 
would have been at the mercy of his caprices. 

Very early on a beautiful morning Ruth and I 
started out on our wedding journey in the long-boat. 

95 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


Mr. Enderton was made as comfortable as possible in 
tbe stern, with Ruth near him. Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine sat facing each other, each with a brown- 
paper package by her side, containing the life-pre- 
server on which she had arrived. These were to be 
ever cherished as memorials of a wonderful experi- 
ence. The three sailors and I took turns at the 
oars. The sea was smooth, and there was every rea- 
son to believe that we should arrive at our destination 
before the end of the day. Mrs. Aleshine had supplied 
us with an abundance of provisions, and, with the ex- 
ception of Mr. Enderton, who had not been permitted 
to take away any of the Dusante books, we were a 
contented party. 

“As long as the flour held out,” remarked Mrs. 
Aleshine, “I’d never been willin’ to leave that island 
till the Dusantes came back, and we could have took 
Emily or Lucille, whichever it was that kept house, 
and showed her everything, and told her just what we 
had done. But when they do come back,” she added, 
“and read that letter Mr. Craig wrote and left for 
them, and find out all that happened in their coun- 
try place while they was away, and how two of us 
was made happy for life, and how two more of us, 
meanin’ Mrs. Leeks and me, have give up goin’ to 
Japan, intendin’, instid of that, to write to my son to 
come home to America and settle down in the country 
he ought to live in— why, then, if them Dusantes ain’t 
satisfied, it’s no use for anybody to ever try to satisfy 
’em.” 

“I should think not,” said Mrs. Leeks, “with the 
weddin’ cards on the parlor table, not a speck of dust 
in any corner, and the board money in the ginger-jar.” 

96 


PART IV 


When the little party, consisting of Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine, Mr. Enderton, my newly made wife, 
and myself, with the red-bearded coxswain and the 
two sailormen, bade farewell to that island in the 
Pacific where so many happy hours had been passer!, 
where such pleasant friendships had been formed, and 
where I had met my Ruth and made her my wife, 
rowed away with a bright sky over our heads, a pleas- 
ant wind behind us, and a smooth sea beneath us. The 
long-boat was comfortable and well appointed, and 
there was even room enough in it for Mr. Enderton 
to stretch himself out and take a noonday nap. We 
gave him every advantage of this kind, for we had 
found by experience that our party was happiest 
when my father-in-law was best contented. 

Early in the forenoon the coxswain rigged a small 
sail in the bow of the boat, and, with this aid to our 
steady and systematic work at the oars, we reached, 
just before nightfall, the large island whither we were 
bound, and to which, by means of the coxswain’s 
pocket- compass, we had steered a direct course. Our 
arrival on this island, which was inhabited by some 
white traders and a moderate population of natives, 
occasioned great surprise, for when the boats contain- 
ing the crew and passengers of our unfortunate steamer 
97 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


had reached the island, it was found that Mrs. Leeks, 
Mrs. Aleshine, and myself were missing. There were 
many suppositions as to our fate. Some persons 
thought we had been afraid to leave the steamer, 
and, having secreted ourselves on board, had gone 
down with her ; others conjectured that in the dark- 
ness wc had fallen overboard, either from the steamer 
or from one of the boats ; and there was even a sur- 
mise that we might have embarked in the leaky small 
boat — in which we really did leave the steamer — and 
so had been lost. At any rate, we had disappeared, 
and our loss was a good deal talked about and, in a 
manner, mourned. In less than a week after their 

'rival the people from the steamer had been taken 

o board a sailing-vessel and carried westward to their 
destination. 

We, however, were not so fortunate, for we remained 
on this island for more than a month. During this 
time but one ship touched there, and she was western 
bound and of no use to us, for we had determined to 
return to America. Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine 
had given up their journey to Japan, and were anx- 
ious to reach once more their country homes, while 
my dear Ruth and I were filled with a desire to found 
a home on some pleasant portion of the Atlantic sea- 
board. What Mr. Enderton intended to do we did 
not know. He was on his way to the United States 
when he left the leaking ship on which he and his 
daughter were passengers, and his intentions regard- 
ing his journey did not appear to have been altered 
by his mishaps. 

By the western-bound vessel, however, Mrs. Aleshine 
sent a letter to her son. 


98 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


Our life on this island was monotonous and to the 
majority of the party uninteresting $ but as it was the 
scene of our honeymoon, Mrs. Craig and I will always 
look back to it with the most pleasurable recollections. 
We were comfortably lodged in a house belonging to 
one of the traders, and although Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine had no household duties to occupy their time, 
they managed to supply themselves with knitting- 
materials from the stores on the island, and filled up 
their hours of waiting with chatty industry. The 
pipes of our sailor friends were always well filled, while 
the sands of the island were warm and pleasant for 
their backs, and it was only Mr. Enderton who showed 
any signs of impatient repining at our enforced stay. 
He growled, he grumbled, and he inveighed against 
the criminal neglect of steamship companies and the 
owners of sailing-craft in not making it compulsory in 
every one of their vessels to stop on every voyage at 
this island, where, at any time, intelligent and im- 
portant personages might be stranded. 

At last, however, we were taken off by a three- 
masted schooner bound for San Francisco, at which 
city we arrived in due time and in good health and 
condition. 

We did not remain long in this city, but soon started 
on our way across the continent, leaving behind us our 
three sailor companions, who intended to ship from 
this port as soon as an advantageous opportunity 
offered itself. These men heard no news of their 
vessel, although they felt quite sure that she had 
reached Honolulu, where she had probably been con- 
demned and the crew scattered. As some baggage 
belonging to my wife and my father-in-law had been 
99 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


left on board this vessel, I had hopes that Mr. Ender- 
ton would remain in San Francisco and order it for- 
warded to him there, or that he would even take a 
trip to Honolulu to attend to the matter personally. 
But in this I was disappointed. He seemed to take 
very little interest in his missing trunks, and wished 
only to press on to the East. I wrote to Honolulu, 
desiring the necessary steps to be taken to forward 
the baggage in case it had arrived there, and soon 
afterwards our party of five started eastward. 

It was now autumn, but although we desired to 
reach the end of our journey before winter set in, we 
felt that we had time enough to visit some of the natu- 
ral wonders of the California country before taking 
up our direct course to the East. Therefore, in spite 
of some petulant remonstrances on the part of Mr. 
Enderton, we made several trips to points of interest. 

From the last of these excursions we set out in a 
stage-coach, of which we were the only occupants, 
toward a point on the railroad where we expected to 
take a train. On the way we stopped to change horses 
at a small stage station at the foot of a range of moun- 
tains, and when I descended from the coach I found 
the driver and some of the men at the station discuss- 
ing the subject of our route. It appeared that there 
were two roads, one of which gradually ascended the 
mountain for several miles, and then descended to the 
level of the railroad, by the side of which it ran until 
it reached the station where we wished to take the 
train. The other road pursued its way along a valley 
or notch in the mountain for a considerable distance, 
and then, by a short but somewhat steep ascending 
grade, joined the upper road. 

100 


MRS. LECKS AND' MRS. ALESHINE 

It was growing quite cold, and the sky and the 
wind indicated that bad weather might be expected ; 
and as the upper road was considered the better one 
at such a time, our driver concluded to take it. Six 
horses, instead of four, were now attached to our stage, 
and as two of these animals were young and unruly, 
and promised to be unusually difficult to drive in the 
ordinary way, our driver concluded to ride one of the 
wheel-horses, postilion fashion, and to put a boy on 
one of the leaders. Mr. Enderton was very much 
afraid of horses, and objected strongly to the young 
animals in our new team 5 but there were no others 
to take their places, and his protests were disregarded. 

My wife and I occupied a back seat, having been 
ordered to take this comfortable position by Mrs. 
Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, who had constituted them- 
selves a board of instruction and admonition to Mrs. 
Craig, and incidentally to myself. They fancied that 
my wife’s health was not vigorous, and that she needed 
coddling, and if she had had two mothers she could 
not have been more tenderly cared for than by these 
good women. They sat upon the middle seat with 
their faces toward the horses, while Mr. Enderton had 
the front seat all to himself. He was, however, so 
nervous and fidgety, continually twisting himself 
about, endeavoring to get a view of the horses or of 
the bad places on the road, that Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine found that a position facing him and in close 
juxtaposition was entirely too uncomfortable, and 
consequently, the back of their seat being adjustable, 
they turned themselves about and faced us. 

The ascent of the mountain was slow and tedious, 
and it was late in the afternoon when we reached the 
101 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


highest point in our route, from which the road de- 
scended for some eight miles to the level of the rail- 
road. Now our pace became rapid, and Mr. Enderton 
grew wildly excited. He threw open the window and 
shouted to the driver to go more slowly. But Mrs. 
Leeks seized him by the coat and jerked him back 
on his seat before he could get any answer to his 
appeals. 

“If you want your daughter to ketch her death o’ 
cold you’ll keep that window open ! ” As she said 
this, she leaned back and pulled the window down 
with her own strong right arm. “I guess the driver 
knows what he is about,” she continued, “this not 
bein’ the first time he’s gone over the road.” 

“Am I to understand, madam,” said Mr. Enderton, 
“that I am not to speak to my driver when I wish him 
to know my will? ” 

To this question Mrs. Leeks made no answer, but 
sat up very straight and stiff, with her back square 
upon the speaker. For some time she and Mr. Ender- 
ton had been “out,” and she made no effort to conceal 
the fact. 

Mr. Enderton’s condition now became pitiable, for 
our rapid speed and the bumping over rough places 
in the road seemed almost to deprive him of his wits, 
notwithstanding my assurance that stage-coaches were 
generally driven at a rapid rate down long inclines. 
In a short time, however, we reached a level spot in 
the road, and the team was drawn up and stopped. 
Mr. Enderton popped out in a moment, and I also got 
down to have a talk with the driver. 

“These bosses won’t do much at holdin’ back,” he 
said, “and it worries ’em less to let ’em go ahead with 
102 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


the wheels locked. You needn’t be afraid. If nothin’ 
breaks, we’re all right.” 

Mr. Enderton seemed endeavoring to satisfy himself 
that everything about the running-gear of the coach 
was in a safe condition. He examined the wheels, the 
axles, and the whiffletrees, much to the amusement of 
the driver, who remarked to me that the old chap 
probably knew as much now as he did before. I was 
rather surprised that my father-in-law subjected the 
driver to no further condemnation. On the contrary, 
he said nothing except that for the rest of this down- 
hill drive he should take his place on the driver’s un- 
occupied seat. Nobody offered any objection to this, 
and up he climbed. 

When we started again, Ruth seemed disturbed that 
her father should be in such an exposed position, but 
I assured her that he would be perfectly safe, and 
would be much better satisfied at being able to see 
for himself what was going on. 

We now began to go downhill again at a rate as 
rapid as before. Our speed, however, was not equal. 
Sometimes it would slacken a little where the road 
was heavy or more upon a level, and then we would 
go jolting and rattling over some long downward 
stretch. After a particularly unpleasant descent of 
this kind the coach seemed suddenly to change its 
direction, and with a twist and an uplifting of one 
side it bumped heavily against something, and 
stopped. I heard a great shout outside, and from 
a window which now commanded a view of the road 
I saw our team of six horses madly running away at 
the top of their speed, with the drivers pulling and 
tugging at the two they rode. 

103 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


Ruth, who had been thrown by the shock into the 
arms of Mrs. Aleshine, was dreadfully frightened, and 
screamed for her father. I had been pitched forward 
upon Mrs. Leeks, but I quickly recovered myself, and 
as soon as I found that none of the occupants of the 
coach had been hurt, I opened the door and sprang 
out. 

In the middle of the road stood Mr. Enderton, en- 
tirely uninjured, with a jubilant expression on his 
face, and in one hand a large closed umbrella. 

“What has happened 1 ? 77 I exclaimed, hurrying 
around to the front of the coach, where I saw that 
the pole had been broken off about the middle of its 
length. 

“Nothing has happened, sir , 77 replied Mr. Enderton. 
“You cannot speak of a wise and discreet act, deter- 
minately performed, as a thing which has happened. 
We have been saved, sir, from being dashed to pieces 
behind that wild and unmanageable team of horses, 
and I will add that we have been saved by my fore- 
thought and prompt action . 77 

I turned and looked at him in astonishment. 
“What do you mean ? 77 I said. “What could you 
have had to do with this accident ? 77 

“Allow me to repeat , 77 said Mr. Enderton, “that it 
was not an accident. The moment that we began to 
go downhill I perceived that we were in a position of 
the greatest danger. The driver was reckless, the boy 
incompetent, and the horses unmanageable. As my 
remonstrances and counsels had no effect upon the 
man, and as you seemed to have no desire to join me 
in efforts to restrain him to a more prudent rate of 
speed, I determined to take the affair into my own 
104 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


hands. I knew that the first thing to be done was to 
rid ourselves of those horses. So long as we were 
connected with them disaster was imminent. I knew 
exactly what ought to be done. The horses must be 
detached from the coach. I had read, sir, of inven- 
tions especially intended to detach runaway horses 
from a vehicle. To all intents and purposes our horses 
were runaways, or would have become so in a very 
short time. I now made it my object to free ourselves 
from those horses.” 

“What ! ” I exclaimed. “You freed us? ” 

“Yes, sir,” he answered, “I did. I got out at our 
first stop, and thoroughly examined the carriage at- 
tachments. I found that the movable bar to which 
the whiffletrees were attached was connected to the 
vehicle by two straps and a bolt, the latter having a 
ring at the top and an iron nut at the bottom. While 
you and that reckless driver were talking together, 
and paying no attention to me, the only person in the 
party who thoroughly comprehended our danger, I 
unbuckled those straps, and with my strong, nervous 
fingers, without the aid of implements, I unscrewed 
the nut from the bolt. Then, sir, I took my seat on 
the outside of the coach, and felt that I held our safety 
in my own hands. For a time I allowed our vehicle 
to proceed, but when we approached this long slope 
which stretches before us, and our horses showed signs 
of increasing impetuosity, I leaned forward, hooked 
the handle of my umbrella in the ring of the bolt, and 
with a mighty effort jerked it out. I admit to you, 
sir, that I had overlooked the fact that the horses were 
also attached to the end of the pole 5 but I have often 
noticed that when we are discreet in judgment and 
105 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


prompt in action we are also fortunate. Thus was I 
fortunate. The hindermost horses, suddenly released, 
rushed upon those in front of them, and, in a manner, 
jumbled up the whole team, which seemed to throw 
the animals into such terror that they dashed to one 
side and snapped off the pole, after which they went 
madly tearing down the road, entirely beyond the 
control of the two riders. Our coach turned and ran 
into the side of the road with but a moderate concus- 
sion, and as I looked at those flying steeds, with their 
riders vainly endeavoring to restrain them, I could 
not, sir, keep down an emotion of pride that I had 
been instrumental in freeing myself, my daughter, and 
my travelling companions from their dangerous prox- 
imity.’’ 

The speaker ceased, a smile of conscious merit upon 
his face. For the moment I could not say a word to 
him, I was so angry. But had I been able to say or 
do anything to indicate the wild indignation that 
filled my brain, I should have had no opportunity, for 
Mrs. Leeks stepped up to me and took me by the arm. 
Her face was very stern, and her expression gave one 
the idea of the rigidity of Bessemer steel. 

“I’ve heard what has been said,” she remarked, 
“and I wish to talk to this man. Your wife is over 
there with Mrs. Aleshine. Will you please take a 
walk with her along the road? You may stay away 
for a quarter of an hour.” 

“Madam,” said Mr. Enderton, “I do not wish to 
talk to you.” 

“I didn’t ask you whether you did or not,” said 
Mrs. Leeks. “Mr. Craig, will you please get your 
wife away as quick and as far as you can ? ” 

106 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


I took the hint, and, with Ruth on my arm, walked 
rapidly down the road. She was very glad to go, for 
she had been much frightened, and wanted to be alone 
with me to have me explain to her what had occurred. 
Mrs. Leeks, imagining from the expression of his coun- 
tenance that Mr. Enderton had, in some way, been at 
the bottom of the trouble, and fearing that she should 
not be able to restrain her indignation when she found 
how he had done it, had ordered Mrs. Aleshine to keep 
Ruth away from her father. This action had increased 
the poor girl’s anxiety, and she was glad enough to 
have me take her away and tell her all about our 
accident. 

I did tell her all that had happened, speaking as 
mildly as I could of Mr. Enderton’s conduct. Poor 
Ruth burst into tears. 

“I do wish,” she exclaimed, “that father would 
travel by himself ! He is so nervous, and so easily 
frightened, that I am sure he would be happier when 
he could attend to his safety in his own way, and 
I know, too, that we should be happier without 
him.” 

I agreed most heartily with these sentiments, al- 
though I did not deem it necessary to say so, and 
Ruth now asked me what I supposed would become 
of us. 

“If nothing happens to the driver and the boy,” I 
replied, “I suppose they will go on until they get to 
the station to which we were bound, and there they 
will procure a pole, if such a thing can be found, or, 
perhaps, get another coach, and come back for us. It 
would be useless for them to return to our coach in its 
present condition.” 


107 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“ And how soon do you think they will come back ? ”‘ 
she said. 

“Not for some hours,” I replied. “The driver told 
me there were no houses between the place where we 
last stopped and the railroad station, and I am sure 
he will not turn back until he reaches a place 
where he can get either a new pole or another 
vehicle.” 

Ruth and I walked to a turn at the bottom of the 
long hill down which onr runaway steeds had sped. 
At this point we had an extended view of the road as 
it wound along the mountain-side, but we could see 
no signs of our horses, nor of any living thing. I did 
not, in fact, expect to see our team, for it would be 
foolish in the driver to come back until he was pre- 
pared to do something for us, and even if he had suc- 
ceeded in controlling the runaway beasts, the quicker 
he got down the mountain the better. 

By the time we had returned we had taken quite a 
long walk, but we were glad of it, for the exercise 
tranquillized us both* On our way back we noticed 
that a road which seemed to come up from below us 
joined the one we were on a short distance from the 
place where our accident occurred. This, probably, 
was the lower road which had been spoken of when 
we changed horses. 

We found Mr. Enderton standing by himself. His 
face was of the hue of wood-ashes, his expression hag- 
gard. He reminded me of a man who had fallen from 
a considerable height, and who had been frightened 
and stupefied by the shock. I comprehended the sit- 
uation without difficulty, and felt quite sure that had 
he had the choice he would have much preferred a 
108 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


thrashing to the plain talk he had heard from Mrs. 
Leeks. 

“What is the matter, father?” exclaimed Ruth. 
“Were you hurt? ” 

Mr. Enderton looked in a dazed way at his daugh- 
ter, and it was some moments before he appeared 
to have heard what she said. Then he answered 
abruptly: “Hurt? Oh, no! I am not hurt in the 
least. I was just thinking of something. I shall walk 
on to the village or town, whichever it is, to which 
that man was taking us. It cannot be more than 
seven or eight miles away, if that. The road is down- 
hill, and I can easily reach the place before nightfall. 
I will then personally attend to your rescue, and will 
see that a vehicle is immediately sent to you. There 
is no trusting these ignorant drivers. No,” he con- 
tinued, deprecatingly raising his hand, “do not at- 
tempt to dissuade me. Your safety and that of others 
is always my first care. Exertion is nothing.” 

Without further words, and paying no attention to 
the remonstrances of his daughter, he strode off down 
the road. 

I was very glad to see him go. At any time his 
presence was undesirable to me, and under the present 
circumstances it would be more objectionable than 
ever. He was a good walker, and there was no doubt 
he could easily reach the station, where he might 
possibly be of some use to us. 

Mrs. Leeks was sitting on a stone by the roadside. 
Her face was still stern and rigid, but there was an 
expression of satisfaction upon it which had not been 
there when I left her. Ruth went to the coach to get 
a shawl, and I said to Mrs. Leeks : 

109 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“I suppose you had your talk with Mr. Enderton? ” 

“Talk ! ” she replied. “I should say so ! If ever a 
man understands what people think of him, and knows 
what he is, from his crown to his feet, inside and out- 
side, soul, body, bones, and skin, and what he may 
expect in this world and the next, he knows it. I 
didn’t keep to what he has done for us this day. I 
went back to the first moment when he began to growl 
at payin’ his honest board on the island, and I didn’t 
let him off for a single sin that he has committed since. 
And now I feel that I’ve done my duty as far as he is 
concerned, and havin’ got through with that, it’s time 
we were lookin’ about to see what we can do for our- 
selves.” 

It was indeed time, for the day was drawing toward 
its close. For a moment I had thought we would 
give Mr. Enderton a good start, and then follow him 
down the mountain to the station. But a little reflec- 
tion showed me that this plan would not answer. 
Ruth was not strong enough to walk so far, and al- 
though Mrs. Aleshine had plenty of vigor, she was too 
plump to attempt such a tramp. Besides, the sky was 
so heavily overcast that it was not safe to leave the 
shelter of the coach. 

As might have been expected, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine took immediate charge of the personal com- 
fort of the party, and the first thing they did was to 
make preparations for a meal. Fortunately, we had 
plenty of provisions. Mrs. Aleshine had had charge 
of what she called our lunch-baskets,— which were, 
indeed, much more like market-baskets than anything 
else,— and having small faith in the resources of road- 
side taverns, and great faith in the unlimited capabili- 
110 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

ties of Mr. Enderton in the matter of consuming food 
on a journey, she had provided bounteously and even 
extravagantly. 

One side of the road was bordered by a forest, and 
on the ground was an abundance of dead wood. I 
gathered a quantity of this, and made a fire, which 
was very grateful to us, for the air was growing colder 
and colder. When we had eaten a substantial supper 
and had thoroughly warmed ourselves at the fire, we 
got into the coach to sit there and wait until relief 
should come. We sat for a long time— all night, in 
fact. We were not uncomfortable, for we each had a 
corner of the coach, and we were plentifully provided 
with wraps and rugs. 

Contrary to their usual habit, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine did not talk much. When subjected to the 
annoyances of an ordinary accident, even if it should 
have been the result of carelessness, their disposition 
would have prompted them to take events as they 
came, and to make the best of whatever might happen 
to them. But this case was entirely different. We 
were stranded and abandoned on the road, on the side 
of a lonely, desolate mountain, on a cold, bleak night, 
and all this was the result of what they considered the 
deliberate and fiendish act of a man who was afraid of 
horses, and who cared for no one in the world but 
himself. Their minds were in such a condition that 
if they said anything, they must vituperate, and they 
were so kindly disposed toward my wife, and had such 
a tender regard for her feelings, that they would not, 
in her presence, vituperate her father. So they said 
very little, and, nestling into their corners, were soon 
asleep. 


Ill 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


After a time Ruth followed their example, and 
though I was very anxiously watching out of the win- 
dow for an approaching light, and listening for the 
sound of wheels, I, too, fell into a doze. It must have 
been ten or eleven o’clock when I was awakened by 
some delicate but cold touches on my face, the nature 
of which, when I first opened my eyes, I could not 
comprehend. But I soon understood what these cold 
touches meant. The window in the door of the coach 
on my side had been slightly lowered from the top to 
give us air, and through the narrow aperture the cold 
particles had come floating in. I looked through the 
window. The night was not very dark, for although 
the sky was overcast, the moon was in its second quar- 
ter, and I could plainly see that it was snowing, and 
that the ground was already white. 

This discovery sent a chill into my soul, for I was 
not unfamiliar with snows in mountain regions, and 
knew well what this might mean to us. But there was 
nothing that we could now do, and it would be useless 
and foolish to awaken my companions and distress 
them with this new disaster. Besides, I thought our 
situation might not be so very bad, after all. It was 
not yet winter, and the snowfall might prove to be 
but a light one. I gently closed the window, and 
made my body comfortable in its corner, but my mind 
continued very uncomfortable for I do not know how 
long. 

When I awoke I found that there had been a heavy 
fall of snow in the night, and that the flakes were still 
coming down thick and fast. When Ruth first looked 
out upon the scene she was startled and dismayed. 
She was not accustomed to storms of this kind, and 
112 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


the snow frightened her. Upon Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine the sight of the storm produced an entirely 
different effect. Here was a difficulty, a discomfort, a 
hardship, but it came in a natural way, and not by 
the hand of a dastardly coward of a man. With 
natural-happening difficulties they were accustomed 
to combat without fear or repining. They knew all 
about snow, and were not frightened by this storm. 
The difficulties which it presented to their minds 
actually raised their spirits, and from the grim and 
quiet beings of the last evening they became the same 
cheerful, dauntless, ready women that I had known 
before. 

“Upon my word,” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, as she 
elapped her face to a window of the coach, “if this 
isn’t a reg’lar old-fashioned snow-storm ! I’ve shovelled 
my own way through many a one like it to get to the 
barn to do my milkin’ afore the men-folks had begun 
makin’ paths, and I feel just like as though I could do 
it ag’in.” 

“Now, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, “if you’re 
thinkin’ of shovellin’ your way from this place to where 
your cows is, you’d better step right out and get at it, 
and I really do think that if you felt they were suf- 
ferin’ for want of milkin’ you’d make a start.” 

“I don’t say,” answered Mrs. Aleshine, with an 
illuminating grin, “that if the case was that way I 
mightn’t have the hankerin’, though not the capable - 
ness ; but I don’t know that there’s any place *o 
shovel our way to just now.” 

Mrs. Leeks and I thought differently. Across the 
road, under the great trees, the ground was compara- 
tively free from snow, and in some places, owing to 
113 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


the heavy evergreen foliage, it was entirely bare. It 
was very desirable that we should get to one of these 
spots and build a fire, for, though we had been well 
wrapped up, we all felt numbed and cold. In the 
boot at the back of the coach I knew that there was 
an axe, and I thought I might possibly find there a 
shovel. I opened the coach door, and saw that the 
snow was already above the lower step. By standing 
on the spokes of the back wheel I could easily get at 
the boot, and I soon pulled put the axe, but found no 
shovel. But this did not deter me. I made my way 
to the front wheel, and climbed up to the driver’s 
box, where I knocked off one of the thin planks of 
the foot-board, and with the axe I shaped it into a 
rude shovel, with a handle rather too wide, but ser- 
viceable. With this I went vigorously to work, and 
soon had made a pathway across the road. Here I 
chopped off some low dead branches, picked up others, 
and soon had a crackling fire, around which my three 
companions gathered with delight. * 

A strong wind was now blowing, and the snow began 
to form into heavy drifts. The fire was very cheery 
and pleasant, but the wind was cutting, and we soon 
returned to the shelter of the coach, where we had our 
breakfast. This was not altogether a cold meal, for 
Mrs. A'eshine had provided a little tea-kettle, and, 
v i th some snow-water which I brought in boiling from 
U L'v i the woods, we had all the hot and comfort- 
v. >v< wanted. 

passed the morning waiting and looking out, 
and wondering what sort of conveyance would be sent 
for us. It was generally agreed that nothing on 
114 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


wheels could now be got over the road, and that we 
must be taken away in a sleigh. 

“I like sleigh-ridin’,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “if you’re 
well wrapped up, with good hosses, and a hot brick for 
your feet, but I must say I don’t know but what I’m 
goin’ to be a little skeery goin’ down these long hills. 
If we get fairly slidin’, hosses, sleigh, and all together, 
there’s no knowin’ where we’ll fetch up.” 

“ There’s one comfort, Barb’ry,” remarked Mrs. 
Leeks, “and that is that when we do fetch up it’ll be 
at the bottom of the hills, and not at the top. And 
as the bottom is what we want to get to, we oughtn’t 
to complain.” 

“That depends a good deal whether we come down 
hind part foremost, or fore part front. But nobody’s 
complainin’ so fur, specially as the sleigh isn’t here.” 

I joined in the outlooking and the conjectures, but 
I could not keep up the cheerful courage which ani- 
mated my companions ; for not only were the two 
elder women bright and cheery, but Buth seemed to 
be animated and encouraged by their example, and 
showed herself as brave and contented as either of 
them. She was convinced that her father must have 
reached the railroad station before it began to snow, 
and therefore she was troubled by no fears for his 
safety. But my mind was filled with many fears. 

The snow was still coming down thick and fast, and 
the wind was piling it into great drifts, one of which 
was forming between the coach and a low embankment 
on that side of the road near which it stood. 

About every half-hour I took my shovel and cleared 
out the path across the road from the other side of the 
115 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


coach to the woods. Several times after doing this I 
made my way among the trees, where the snow did 
not impede my progress, to points from which I had a 
view some distance down the mountain, and I could 
plainly see that there were several places where the 
road was blocked up by huge snow-drifts. It would 
be a slow, laborious, and difficult undertaking for any 
relief-party to come to us from the station. And who 
was there at that place to come ? This was the ques- 
tion which most troubled me. The settlement at the 
station was probably a very small one, and that there 
should be found at that place a sleigh or a sled with 
enough men to form a party sufficiently strong to open 
a road up the mountain-side was scarcely to be ex- 
pected. Men and vehicles might be obtained at some 
point farther along the railroad, but action of this 
kind would require time, and it was not unlikely that 
the railroad itself was blocked up with snow. I could 
form no idea satisfactory to myself of any plan by 
which relief could come to us that day. Even the 
advent of a messenger on horseback was not to be 
expected. Such an adventurer would be lost in the 
storm and among the drifts. On the morrow relief 
might come, but I did not like to think too much 
about the morrow ; and of any of my thoughts and 
fears I said nothing to my companions. 

At intervals, after I had freshly cleared out the 
pathway, the three women, well bundled up, ran 
across the road to the fire under the trees. This was 
the only way in which they could keep themselves 
warm, for the coach, although it protected us from 
the storm, was a very cold place to sit in. But the 
wind and the snow which frequently drove in under 
116 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


the trees made it impossible to stay very long by the 
fire, and the frequent passages to and from the coach 
were attended with much exposure and wetting of 
feet. I therefore determined that some better way 
must be devised for keeping ourselves warm, and, 
shortly after our noonday meal, I thought of a plan, 
and immediately set to work to carry it out. 

The drift between the coach and the embankment 
had now risen higher than the top of the vehicle, 
against one side of which it was tightly packed. I 
dug a path around the back of the coach, and then 
began to tunnel into the huge bank of snow. In about 
an hour I had made an excavation nearly high enough 
for me to stand in, and close to the stage door on that 
side, and I cleared away the snow so that this door 
could open into the cavern I had formed. At the end 
opposite the entrance of my cave I worked a hole 
upward until I reached the outer air. This hole was 
about a foot in diameter, and for some time the light, 
unpacked snow from above kept falling and filling it 
up. But I managed, by packing and beating the sides 
with my shovel, to get the whole into a condition in 
which it would retain the form of a rude chimney. 

Now I hurried to bring wood and twigs, and having 
made a hearth of green sticks, which I cut with my 
axe, I built a fire in this snowy fireplace. Mrs. Leeks, 
Mrs. Aleshine, and Ruth had been watching my pro- 
ceedings with great interest, and when the fire began 
to burn, and the smoke to go out of my chimney, the 
coach door was opened, and the genial heat gradually 
pervaded the vehicle. 

“Upon my word,” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, “if that 
ain’t one of the brightest ideas I ever heard of! A 
117 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


fire in the middle of a snowbank, with a man there 
attendin’ to it, and a chimney ! ’Tisn’t every day that 
you can see a thing like that ! ” 

“I should hope not,” remarked Mrs. Leeks, “for if 
the snow drifted this way every day, I’d be ready to 
give up the seein’ business out and out ! But I think, 
Mr. Craig, you ought to pass that shovel in to us, so 
that we can dig you out when the fire begins to melt 
your little house and it all caves in on you.” 

“You can have the shovel,” said I, “but I don’t 
believe this snowbank will cave in on me. Of course 
the heat will melt the snow, but I think it will dis- 
solve gradually, so that the caving in, if there is any, 
won’t be of much account, and then we shall have a 
big open space here in which we can keep up our 
fire.” 

“Oh, dear ! ” exclaimed Ruth, “you talk as if you 
expected to stay here ever so long, and we certainly 
can’t do that. We should starve to death, for one 
thing.” 

“Don’t be afraid of that,” said Mrs. Aleshine. 
“There’s plenty of vittles to last till the people 
come for us. When I pack baskets for travellin’ or 
picnickin’, I don’t do no scrimpin’. And we’ve got to 
keep up a fire, you know, for it wouldn’t be pleasant 
for those men, when they’ve cut a way up the moun- 
tain to get at us, to find us all froze stiff.” 

Mrs. Leeks smiled. “You’re awful tender of the 
feelin’s of other people, Barb’ry,” she said, “and a 
heart as warm as yourn ought to keep from freezin’.” 

“Which it has done, so far,” said Mrs. Aleshine, 
complacently. 

As I had expected, the water soon began to drip 
118 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


from the top and the sides of my cavern, and the 
chimney rapidly enlarged its dimensions. I made a 
passage for the melted snow to run off into a hollow 
back of the coach, and as I kept up a good strong 
fire, the drops of water and occasional pieces of snow 
which fell into it did not extinguish it. The cavern 
enlarged rapidly, and in a little more than an hour 
the roof became so thin that while I was outside col- 
lecting wood it fell in and extinguished the fire. This 
accident, however, interrupted my operations but for 
a short time. I cleared away the snow at the bottom 
of the excavation, and rebuilt my fire on the bare 
ground. The high snow walls on three sides of it 
protected it from the wind, so that there was no danger 
of the flames being blown against the stage-coach, 
while the large open space above allowed a free vent 
for the smoke. 

About the middle of the afternoon, to the great 
delight of us all, it stopped snowing, and when I had 
freshly shovelled out the path across the road, my 
companions gladly embraced the opportunity of walk- 
ing over to the comparatively protected ground under 
the trees and giving themselves a little exercise. Dur- 
ing their absence I was busily engaged in arranging 
the fire, when I heard a low, crunching sound on one 
side of me, and turning my head, I saw in the wall of 
my excavation opposite to the stage-coach, and at a 
distance of four or five feet from the ground, an ir- 
regular hole in the snow, about a foot in diameter, 
from which protruded the head of a man. This head 
was wrapped, with the exception of the face, in a 
brown woollen comforter. The features were those of 
n- man of about fifty, a little sallow and thin, without 
119 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


beard, whiskers, or mustache, although the cheeks and 
chin were darkened with a recent growth. 

The astounding apparition of this head projecting 
itself from the snow wall of my cabin utterly paralyzed 
me, so that I neither moved nor spoke, but remained 
crouching by the fire, my eyes fixed upon the head. 
It smiled a little, and then spoke. 

“ Could you lend me a small iron pot?” it said. 

I rose to my feet, almost ready to run away. Was 
this a dream f Or was it possible that there was a race 
of beings who inhabited snowbanks ? 

The face smiled again very pleasantly. “Do not be 
frightened,” it said. “I saw you were startled, and 
spoke first of a familiar pot in order to reassure you.” 

“Who, in the name of heaven, are you?” I gasped. 

“I am only a traveller, sir,” said the head, “who has 
met with an accident similar, I imagine, to that which 
has befallen you. But I cannot further converse with 
you in this position. Lying thus on my breast in a 
tunnel of snow will injuriously chill me. Could you 
conveniently lend me an iron pot ? ” 

I was now convinced that this was an ordinary 
human being, and my courage and senses returned to 
me, but my astonishment remained boundless. “Be- 
fore we talk of pots,” I said, “I must know who you 
are, and how you got into that snowbank.” 

“I do not believe,” said my visitor, “that I can get 
down, head foremost, to your level. I will therefore 
retire to my place of refuge, and perhaps we can com- 
municate with each other through this aperture.” 

“Can I get through to your place of refuge?” I 
asked. 

“Certainly,” was the answer. “You are young and 
120 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


active, and the descent will not be so deep on my side. 
But I will first retire, and will then project toward 
you this sheepskin rug, which, if kept under you as 
you move forward, will protect your breast and arms 
from direct contact with the snow.” 

It was difficult to scramble up into the hole, but I 
succeeded in doing it, and found awaiting me the 
sheepskin rug, which, by the aid of an umbrella, the 
man had pushed toward me for my use. I was in a 
horizontal tunnel barely large enough for the passage 
of my body, and about six feet in length. When I 
had worked my way through this, and had put my 
head out of the other end, I looked into a small 
wooden shed, into which light entered only through a 
pane of glass set in a rude door opposite to me. I 
immediately perceived that the whole place was filled 
with the odor of spirituous liquors. The man stood 
awaiting me, and by his assistance I descended to the 
floor. As I did so I heard something which sounded 
like a titter, and looking around, I saw in a corner a 
bundle of clothes and travelling-rugs, near the top of 
which appeared a pair of eyes. Turning again, I could 
discern in another corner a second bundle, similar to 
but somewhat larger than the other. 

“ These ladies are travelling with me,” said the man, 
who was now wrapping about him a large cloak, and 
who appeared to be of a tall though rather slender 
figure. His manner and voice were those of a gentle- 
man, extremely courteous and considerate. “As I am 
sure you are curious— and this I regard as quite natu- 
ral, sir— to know why we are here, I will at once 
proceed to inform you. We started yesterday in a 
carriage for the railway station, which is, I believe, 
121 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


some miles beyond this point. There were two roads 
from the last place at which we stopped, and we chose 
the one which ran along a valley, and which we sup- 
posed would be the pleasanter of the two. We there 
engaged a pair of horses which did not prove very 
serviceable animals, and, at a point about a hundred 
yards from where we now are, one of them gave out 
entirely. The driver declared that the only thing to 
be done was to turn loose the disabled horse, which 
would be certain, in time, to find his way back to his 
stable, and for him to proceed on the other animal to 
the station to which we were going, where he would 
procure some fresh horses and return as speedily as 
possible. To this plan we were obliged to consent, as 
there was no alternative. He told us that if we did 
not care to remain in the carriage, there was a shed 
by the side of the road, a little farther on, which was 
erected for the accommodation of men who are some- 
times here in charge of relays of horses. After assur- 
ing us that he would not be absent more than three 
hours, he rode away, and we have not seen him since. 

“Soon after he left us I came to this shed, and find- 
ing it tight and comparatively comfortable, I con- 
cluded it would give us relief from our somewhat 
cramped position in the carriage, and so conducted 
the ladies here. As night drew on it became very 
cold, and I determined to make a fire, a proceeding 
which, of course, would have been impossible in a 
vehicle. Fortunately I had with me, at the back of 
the carriage, a case of California brandy. By the aid 
of a stone I knocked the top off this case, and brought 
hither several of the bottles. I found in the shed an 
old tin pan, which I filled with the straw coverings of 
122 


MRS. DECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


the bottles, and on this I poured brandy, which, being 
ignited, produced a fire without smoke, but which, as 
we gathered around it, gave out considerable heat.” 

As the speaker thus referred to his fuel, I under- 
stood the reason of the strong odor of spirits which 
filled the shed, and I experienced a certain relief in 
my mind. 

The gentleman continued : “ At first I attributed the 
delay of the driver’s return to those ordinary hin- 
drances which so frequently occur in rural and out- 
of-the-way places, but after a time I could not imagine 
any reasonable cause for his delay. As it began to 
grow dark I brought here our provision-baskets, and 
we partook of a slight repast. I then made the ladies 
as comfortable as possible, and awaited with much 
anxiety the return of the driver. 

“After a time it began to snow, and feeling that the 
storm might interrupt communication with the car- 
riage, I brought hither, making many trips for the 
purpose, the rest of the brandy, our wraps and rugs, 
and the cushions of the carriage. I did not believe 
that we should be left here all night, but thought it 
prudent to take all precautions, and to prepare for 
remaining in a place where we could have a fire. The 
morning showed me that I had acted wisely. As you 
know, sir, I found the road in each direction com- 
pletely blocked up by snow, and I have since been 
unable to visit the carriage.” 

“Have you not all suffered from cold?” I inquired. 
“Have you food enough?” 

“I will not say,” replied the gentleman, “that in 
addition to our anxiety we have not suffered some- 
what from cold, but for the greater part of this day I 
123 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


have adopted a plan which has resulted in consider- 
able comfort to my companions. I have wrapped 
them up very closely and warmly, and they hold in 
each hand a hard-boiled egg. I thought it better to 
keep these for purposes of warmth than to eat them. 
About every half-hour I reboil the eggs in a little 
travelling tea-pot which we have. They retain their 
warmth for a considerable period, and this warmth in 
a moderate degree is communicated through the hands 
to the entire person.” 

As he said this a low laugh again burst forth from 
the bundle in one corner of the room, and I could not 
help smiling at this odd way of keeping warm. I 
looked toward the jocose bundle, and remarked that 
the eggs must be pretty hard by this time. 

“These ladies,” said the gentleman, “are not accus- 
tomed to the cold atmosphere of this region, and I 
have therefore forbidden them to talk, hoping thus to 
prevent injury from the inhalation of frosty air. So 
far we have not suffered, and we still have some food 
left. About noon I noticed smoke floating over this 
shed, and I forced open the door and made my way 
for some little distance outside, hoping to discover 
whence it came. I then heard voices on the other 
side of the enormous snow-drift behind us, but I could 
see no possible way of getting over the drift. Feeling 
that I must, without fail, open communication with 
any human beings who might be near us, I attempted 
to shout, but the cold had so affected my voice that I 
could not do so. I thereupon set my wits to work. 
At the back of this shed is a small window closed by 
a wooden shutter. I opened this shutter, and found 
outside a wall of snow packed closely against it. The 
124 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


snow was not very hard, and I believed that it would 
not be difficult to tunnel a way through it to the place 
where the voices seemed to be. I immediately set to 
work, for I feared that if we were obliged to remain 
here another night without assistance we should be 
compelled to-morrow morning to eat those four hard- 
boiled eggs which the ladies are holding, and which, 
very shortly, I must boil again.’ 7 

“How did you manage to cut through the snow? ” I 
asked. “Had you a shovel? ” 

“Oh, no,” replied the other. “I used the tin pan. 
I found it answered very well as a scoop. Each time 
that I filled it I threw the contents out of our door.” 

“It must have been slow and difficult work,” I said. 

“Indeed it was,” he replied. “The labor was ardu- 
ous, and occupied me several hours. But when I saw 
a respectable man at a fire, and a stage-coach near by, 
I felt rewarded for all my trouble. May I ask you, 
sir, how you came to be thus snow-bound ? ” 

I then briefly related the circumstances of our mis- 
hap, and had scarcely finished when a shrill sound 
came through the tunnel into the shed. It was the 
voice of Mrs. Aleshine. 

“Hello!” she screamed, “are you in there? And 
you don’t mean to tell me there are other people in 
that hole ? ” 

Feeling quite certain that my wife and her com- 
panions were in a state of mental agitation on the 
other side of the drift, I called back that I would be 
with them in a moment, and then explained to the 
gentleman why I could not remain with him longer. 
“But before I go,” I said, “is there anything I can do 
for you ? Do you really want an iron pot ? ” 

125 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“ The food that remains to us,” he answered, “is 
fragmentary and rather distasteful to the ladies, and 
I thought if I could make a little stew of it, it might 
prove more acceptable to them. But do not let me 
detain you another instant from your friends, and I 
advise you to go through that tunnel feet foremost, 
for you might, otherwise, experience difficulties in 
getting out at the other end.” 

I accepted his suggestion, and by his assistance and 
the help of the rough window-frame, I got into the 
hole feet first, and soon ejected myself into the midst 
of my alarmed companions. When they heard where 
I had been, and what I had seen, they were naturally 
astounded. 

“Another party deserted at this very point ! ” ex- 
claimed Ruth, who was both excitable and imagina- 
tive. “This looks like a conspiracy ! Are we to be 
robbed and murdered ! ” 

At these words Mrs. Aleshine sprang toward me. 
“Mr. Craig,” she exclaimed, “if it’s robbers, don’t lose 
a minute ! Never let ’em get ahead of you ! Pull out 
your pistol and fire through the hole ! ” 

“Gracious me ! Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“you don’t suppose the robbers is them poor unfortu- 
nates on the other side of the drift ! And I must say, 
Mrs. Craig, that if there was any such thing as a con- 
spiracy, your father must have been in it, for it was 
him who landed us just here. But of course none of 
us supposes nothin’ of that kind, and the first thing 
we’ve got to think of is what we can do for them poor 
people.” 

“They seem to have some food left, but not much,” 
I said, “and I fear they must be suffering from cold.” 

126 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


“ Couldn’t we poke some wood to them through this 
hole ?’ 7 said Mrs. Aleshine, whose combative feelings 
had changed to the deepest compassion. “I should 
think they must be nearly froze, with nothin’ to warm 
’em but hard-b’iled eggs.” 

I explained that there was no place in their shed 
where they could build a fire, and proposed that we 
should give them some hot tea and some of our pro- 
visions. 

“That’s so ! ” said Mrs. Aleshine. “Just shout in to 
them that if they’ll shove them eggs through the hole, 
I’ll bile ’em for ’em as often as they want ’em.” 

“I’ve just got this to say,” ejaculated Mrs. Leeks, as 
she and Mrs. Aleshine were busily placing a portion 
of our now very much reduced stock of provisions in 
the smallest of our baskets : “this is the first time in 
my life that I ever heard of people warmin’ themselves 
up with hens’ eggs and spirits, excep’ when mixed up 
into egg-nog ; and that they resisted that temptation 
and contented themselves with plain honest heat, 
though very little of it, shows what kind of people 
they must be. And now, do you suppose we could 
slide this basket in without upsettin’ the little 
kittle?” 

I called to the gentleman that we were about to 
send him a basket, and then, by the aid of an umbrella, 
I gently pushed it through the snow tunnel to a point 
where he could reach it. Hearty thanks came back 
to us through the hole, and when the basket and kettle 
were returned, we prepared our own evening meal. 

“For the life of me,” said Mrs. Leeks, as she sipped 
a cup of tea, “I can’t imagine, if there was a shed so 
near us, why we didn’t know it.” 

127 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“That has been puzzling me / 7 I replied. “But the 
other road, on which the shed is built, is probably 
lower than this one, so that the upper part of the shed 
could not have projected far above the embankment 
between the two roads, and if there were weeds and 
dead grasses on the bank, as there probably were, they 
would have prevented us from noticing the top of a 
weather-worn shed . 77 

“Especially , 77 said Mrs. Leeks, “as we wasn’t lookin’ 
for sheds, and, as far as I know, we wasn’t lookin’ for 
nothin’ on that side of the coach, for all my eyes 
was busy starin’ about on the side we got in and out 
of, and down the road.” 

“Which mine was, too,” added Mrs. Aleshine. “And 
after it begun to snow we couldn’t see nothin’ anyhow, 
partic’larly when everything was all covered up.” 

“Well,” added Mrs. Leeks, in conclusion, “as we 
didn’t see the shed, it’s a comfort to think there was 
reasons for it, and that we ain’t born fools.” 

It was now growing dark, and but few further com- 
^munications took place through the little tunnel. 

“Before we get ready to go to sleep,” said Mrs. 
Aleshine, “for, havin’ no candles, I guess we won’t sit 
up late, hadn’t we better rig up some kind of a little 
sled to put in that hole, with strings at both ends, so 
that we kin send in mustard-plasters and peppermint 
to them poor people if they happen to be sick in the 
night?” 

' This little project was not considered necessary, and 
after receiving assurances from the gentleman on the 
other side that he would be able to keep his party 
warm until morning, we bade each other good night, 
and, after having replenished the fire, I got into the 
128 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


stage, where my companions had already established 
themselves in their corners. I slept very little, and 
frequently went out to attend to the fire, while my 
mind was racked by the most serious apprehensions. 
Our food was nearly gone, and if relief did not come 
to us very soon I could see nothing but a slow death 
before us, and, so far as I could imagine, there was no 
more reason to expect succor on the following day than 
there had been on the one just past. Where were the 
men to be found who could cut a road to us through 
those miles of snow-drifts f 

Very little was said during the night by my com- 
panions, but I am sure that they felt the seriousness 
of our situation, and that their slumbers were broken 
and unrefreshing. If there had been anything to do, 
Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine would have been cheered 
up by the prospect of doing it. But we all felt that 
there was nothing we could do. 


PART y 


After a second night spent in the stage-coach on that 
lonely and desolate mountain road where we were now 
snow-bound, I arose early in the morning, and went 
into the forest to collect some fuel, and while thus 
engaged I made the discovery that the snow was cov- 
ered with a hard crust which would bear my weight. 
After the storm had ceased the day before, the sun 
had shone brightly and the temperature had mod- 
erated very much, so that the surface of the snow had 
slightly thawed. During the night it became cold 
again, and this surface froze into a hard coating of ice. 
When I found I could walk where I pleased, my 
spirits rose, and I immediately set out to view the 
situation. The aspect of the road gave me no encour- 
agement. The snowfall had been a heavy one, but 
had it not been for the high wind which accompanied 
it, it would have thrown but moderate difficulties in 
the way of our rescue. Reaching a point which com- 
manded a considerable view along the side of the 
mountain, I could see that in many places the road 
was completely lost to sight on account of the great 
snow-drifts piled up on it. I then walked to the point 
where the two roads met, and crossing over, I climbed 
a slight rise in the ground which had cut off my view 
130 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


in this direction, and found myself in a position from 
which I could look directly down the side of the 
mountain below the road. 

Here the mountain-side, which I had supposed to 
be very steep and rugged, descended in a long and 
gradual slope to the plains below, and for the greater 
part of the distance was covered by a smooth, shining 
surface of frozen snow, unbroken by rock or tree. 
This snowy slope apparently extended for a mile or 
more, and then I could see that it gradually blended 
itself into the greenish-brown turf of the lower coun- 
try. Down in the valley there still were leaves upon 
the trees, and there were patches of verdure over the 
land. The storm which had piled its snows up here 
had given them rain down there and had freshened 
everything. It was like looking down into another 
climate and on another land. I saw a little smoke 
coming up behind a patch of trees. It must be that 
there was a house there ! Could it be possible that 
we were within a mile or two of a human habitation ? 
Yet, what comfort was there in that thought? The 
people in that house could not get to us, nor we to 
them, nor could they have heard of our situation, for 
the point where our road reached the lower country 
was miles farther on. 

As I stood thus and gazed, it seemed to me that I 
could make a run and slide down the mountain-side 
into green fields, into safety, into life. I remembered 
those savage warriors who, looking from the summits 
of the Alps upon the fertile plains of Italy, seated 
themselves upon their shields and slid down to con- 
quest and rich spoils. 

An idea came into my mind, and I gave it glad 
131 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


welcome. There was no time to be lost. The sun was 
not yet high, but it was mounting in a clear sky, and 
should its rays become warm enough to melt the crust 
on which I stood, our last chance of escape would be 
gone. To plough our way to any place through deep, 
soft snow would be impossible. I hurried back to our 
coach, and found three very grave women standing 
around the fire. They were looking at a small quan- 
tity of food at the bottom of a large basket. 

“That’s every crumb there is left,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine to me, “and when we pass in some to them 
unfortunates on the other side of the drift,— which, of 
course, we’re bound to do,— we’ll have what I call a 
skimpy meal. And that’s not the worst of it. Until 
somebody gets up to us, it will be our last meal.” 

I took my poor Ruth by the hand, for she was look- 
ing very pale and troubled, and I said : “My dear 
friends, nobody can get up to this place for a long, 
long time, and before help could possibly reach us we 
should all be dead. But do not be frightened. It is 
not necessary to wait for any one to come to us. The 
snow is now covered with a crust which will bear our 
weight. I have thought of a way in which we can 
slide down the mountain-side, which, from a spot 
where I have been standing this morning, is no steeper 
than some coasting-hills, though very much longer. 
In a few minutes we can pass from this region of snow, 
where death from cold and starvation must soon over- 
take us, to a grassy valley where there is no snow, and 
where we shall be within walking distance of a house 
in which people are living.” 

Ruth grasped my arm. “Will it be safe?” she ex- 
claimed. 


132 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

“I think so,” I answered. “I see no reason why we 
should meet with any accident. At any rate, it is 
much safer than remaining here for another hour, for, 
if the crust melts, our last chance is gone.” 

“Mr. Craig,” said Mrs. Leeks, “me and Mrs. Ale- 
shine is no hands at coastin’ downhill, havin’ given up 
that sort of thing since we was little girls with short 
frocks and it didn’t make no matter anyway. But 
you know more about these things than we do, and if 
you say we can get out of this dreadful place by slidin’ 
downhill, we’re ready to follow, if you’ll just go ahead. 
We followed you through the ocean, with nothin’ be- 
tween our feet and the bottom but miles of water and 
nobody knows what sorts of dreadful fish, and when 
you say it’s the right way to save our lives, we’re ready 
to follow you ag’in. And as for you, Mrs. Buth, don’t 
you be frightened. I don’t know what we’re goin’ to 
slide on, but, whatever it is, even if it’s our own 
selves, me and Mrs. Aleshine will take you between 
us, and if anything is run against, we’ll get the bumps, 
and not you.” 

I was delighted to see how rapidly my proposition 
was accepted, and we made a hasty breakfast, first 
sending in some of our food to the other party. The 
gentleman reported through the hole of communica- 
tion that they were all fairly well, but a good deal 
stiffened by cold and want of exercise. He inquired, 
in a very anxious voice, if I had discovered any signs 
of approaching relief. To this I replied that I had 
devised a plan by which we could get ourselves out of 
our present dangerous situation, and that in a very 
short time I would come round to the door of his shed 
—for I could now walk on the crusted snow— and tell 
133 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


him about it. He answered that these words cheered 
his heart, and that he would do everything possible to 
cooperate with me. 

I now went to work vigorously. I took the cushions 
from the coach, four of them altogether, and carried 
them to the brink of the slope down which I purposed 
to make our descent. I also conveyed thither a long 
coil of rawhide rope which I had previously discovered 
in the boot of the coach. I then hurried along the 
other road, which, as has been said before, lay at a 
somewhat lower level than the one we were on, and 
when I reached the shed I found the door had been 
opened, and the gentleman, with his tin pan, had 
scooped away a good deal of the snow about it, so as 
to admit of a moderately easy passage in and out. He 
met me outside, and grasped my hand. 

“Sir, if you have a plan to propose/’ he said, “state 
it quickly. We are in a position of great danger. 
Those two ladies inside the shed cannot much longer 
endure this exposure, and I presume that the ladies in 
your party— although their voices, which I occasion- 
ally hear, do not seem to indicate it— must be in a 
like condition.” 

I replied that, so far, my companions had borne up 
very well, and without further waste of words pro- 
ceeded to unfold my plan of escape. 

When he had heard it the gentleman put on a very 
serious expression. “It seems hazardous,” he said, 
“but it may be the only way out of our danger. Will 
you show me the point from which you took your 
observations $ ” 

“Yes,” said I. “But we must be in haste. The sun 
134 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


is getting up in the sky, and this crust may soon begin 
to melt. It is not yet really winter, you know.” 

We stepped quickly to the spot where I had carried 
the cushions. The gentleman stood and silently gazed 
first at the blocked- up roadway, then at the long, 
smooth slope of the mountain-side directly beneath 
us, and then at the verdure of the plain below, which 
had grown greener under the increasing brightness of 
the day. “Sir,” said he, turning to me, “there is 
nothing to be done but to adopt your plan, or to re- 
main here and die. We will accompany you in the 
descent, and I place myself under your orders.” 

“The first thing,” said I, “is to bring here your car- 
riage cushions, and help me to arrange them.” 

When he had brought the three cushions from the 
shed, the gentleman and I proceeded to place them 
with the others on the snow, so that the whole formed 
a sort of wide and nearly square mattress. Then, 
with the rawhide rope, we bound them together in a 
rough but secure network of cordage. In this part of 
the work I found my companion very apt and skilful. 

When this rude mattress was completed, I requested 
the gentleman to bring his ladies to the place, while I 
went for mine. 

“What are we to pack up to take with us?” said 
Mrs. Aleshine, when I reached our coach. 

“We take nothing at all,” said I, “but the money in 
our pockets, and our rugs and wraps. Everything else 
must be left in the coach, to be brought down to us 
when the roads shall be cleared out.” 

With our rugs and shawls on our arms, we left the 
coach, and as we were crossing the other road we saw 
135 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


the gentleman and his companions approaching. 
These ladies were very much wrapped up, but one of 
them seemed to step along lightly and without diffi- 
culty, while the other moved slowly and was at times 
assisted by the gentleman. 

A breeze had sprung up which filled the air with 
fine frozen particles blown from the crusted beds of 
snow along the edge of the forest, and I counselled 
Ruth to cover up her mouth and breathe as little of 
this snow powder as possible. 

“If I’m to go coastin’ at all,” said Mrs. Aleshine, 
“I’d as lief do it with strangers as friends, and a little 
liefer, for that matter, if there’s any bones to be broken. 
But I must say that I’d like to make the acquaintance 
of them ladies afore I get on to the sled, which”— at 
that moment catching sight of the mattress— “you 
don’t mean to say that that’s it? ” 

“Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, from under- 
neath her great woollen comforter, “if you want to get 
your lungs friz, you’d better go on talkin’. Manners 
is manners, but they can wait till we get to the bottom 
of the hill.” 

Notwithstanding this admonition, I noticed that as 
soon as the two parties met, both Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine advanced and shook hands with the ladies 
who had been their neighbors under such peculiar 
circumstances, and that Mrs. Leeks herself expressed 
a muffled hope that we might all get down safely. 

I now pushed the mattress, which was to serve as our 
sled, as close as was prudent to the edge of the descent, 
and requested the party to seat themselves upon it. 
Without hesitation Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine sat 
down, taking Ruth between them, as they had prom- 
136 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


ised to do. My young wife was very nervous, but the 
cool demeanor of her companions, and my evident 
belief in the practicability of the plan, gave her cour- 
age, and she quietly took her seat. The younger of 
the two strange ladies stepped lightly on the cushions, 
and before seating herself stood up for a good look at 
the far-extending bed of snow over which we were to 
take our way. The prospect did not appear to deter 
her, and she sat down promptly and with an air that 
seemed to say that she anticipated a certain enjoy- 
ment from the adventure. The elder lady, however, 
exhibited very different emotions. She shrank back 
from the cushions toward which the gentleman was 
conducting her, and turned her face away from the 
declivity. Her companion assured her that it was 
absolutely necessary that we should descend from the 
mountain in this way, for there was no other ; and 
asserting his belief that our slide would be a perfectly 
safe one, he gently drew her to the mattress and in- 
duced her to sit down. 

I now noticed, for the first time, that the gentleman 
carried under one arm, and covered by his long cloak, 
a large package of some sort, and I immediately said 
to him : “It will be very imprudent for us to attempt 
to carry any of our property except what we can put 
in our pockets or wrap around us. Everything else 
should be left here, either in your carriage or our 
coach, and I have no fear that anything will be lost. 
But even if our luggage were in danger of being mo- 
lested, we cannot afford to consider it under circum- 
stances such as these.” 

“My dear sir,” said the gentleman, speaking very 
gravely, “I appreciate the hazards of our position as 
137 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


keenly as yourself. Our valises, and all the light lug- 
gage which we had with us in our carriage, I have left 
there, and shall not give them another thought. But 
with the parcel I hold under this arm I cannot part, 
and if I go down the mountain-side on these cushions, 
it must go with me. If you refuse in such a case to 
allow me to be one of your party, I must remain be- 
hind, and endeavor to hnd a board or something else 
on which I can make the descent of the mountain.” 

He spoke courteously, but with an air of decision 
which showed me that it would be of no use to argue 
with him. Besides, there was no time for parleying, 
and if this gentleman chose to take his chances with 
but one arm at liberty, it was no longer my affair. I 
therefore desired him to sit down, and I arranged the 
company so that they sat back to back, their feet 
drawn up to the edge of the mattress. I then took 
the place which had been reserved for me as steers- 
man, and having tied several shawls together, end to 
end, I passed them around the whole of us under our 
arms, thus binding us all firmly together. I felt that 
one of our greatest dangers would be that one or more 
of the party might slip from the mattress during the 
descent. 

When all was ready I asked the gentleman, who, 
with the elder lady, sat near me at the back of the 
mattress, to assist in giving us a start by pushing out- 
ward with his heels while I thrust the handle of my 
wooden shovel into the crust and thus pushed the mat- 
tress forward. The starting was a little difficult, but 
in a minute or two we had pushed the mattress partly 
over the brink, and then, after a few more efforts, we 
began to slide downward. 

138 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

The motion, at first slow, suddenly became quite 
rapid, and I heard behind me a cry or exclamation, 
from whom I knew not, but I felt quite sure it did 
not come from any of my party. I hoped to be able 
to make some use of my shovel in the guidance of our 
unwieldy raft or mattress-sled, but I soon found this 
impossible, and down we went over the smooth, hard- 
frozen slope, with nothing to direct our course but the 
varying undulations of the mountain-side. Every 
moment we seemed to go faster and faster, and soon 
we began to revolve, so that sometimes I was in front 
and sometimes behind. Once, when passing over a 
very smooth sheet of snow, we fairly spun around, so 
that in every direction feet were flying out from a 
common centre and heels grating on the frozen crust. 
But there were no more cries or exclamations. Each 
one of us grasped the cordage which held the cushions 
together, and the rapidity of the motion forced us 
almost to hold our breath. 

Down the smooth, white slope we sped, as a bird 
skims through the air. It seemed to me as if we 
passed over miles and miles of snow. Sometimes my 
face was turned down the mountain, where the snow- 
surface seemed to stretch out inimitably, and then it 
was turned upward toward the apparently illimitable 
slopes over which we had passed. 

Presently, my position then being in front of the 
little group that glanced along its glittering way, I 
saw at some distance below me a long rise or terrace, 
which ran along the mountain-side for a considerable 
distance, and which cut off our view of everything 
below us. As we approached this hillock the descent 
became much more gradual and our progress slower, 
139 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


and at last I began to fear that our acquired velocity 
would not be sufficient to carry us up the side of this 
elevation and so enable us to continue our descent. I 
therefore called to everybody in the rear to kick out 
vigorously, and with my shovel I endeavored to assist 
our progress. As we approached the summit of the 
elevation we moved slower and slower. I became 
very anxious, for, should we slide backward, we might 
find it difficult or impossible to get ourselves and 
the mattress up this little hill. But the gentleman 
and I worked valiantly, and as for Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine, they kicked their heels through the 
frozen crust with such energy that we moved sidewise 
almost as much as upward. But in a moment the 
anxious suspense was over, and we rested on the ridge 
of the long hillock, with the mountain-side stretching 
down to the plain, which lay not very far below us. 

I should have been glad to remain here a few min- 
utes to regain breath and give some consideration to 
the rest of our descent, but as some of those behind 
continued to push, the mattress slid over the edge of 
the terrace, and down again we went. Our progress 
now was not so rapid, but it was very much more 
unpleasant. The snow was thinner, there was little 
or no crust upon it, and we very soon reached a wide 
extent of exposed turf, over which we slid, but not 
without a good deal of bumping against stones and 
protuberances. Then there was another sheet of 
snow, which quickened our downward impetus. After 
that the snow was seen only in occasional patches, 
and our progress continued over a long slope of short, 
partly dried grass, which was very slippery, and over 
which we quickly passed. 

140 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


I wished now to bring our uncouth sled to a stop, 
and to endeavor to make the rest of the descent on 
foot. But although I stuck out my heels, and tried 
to thrust the handle of my shovel into the ground, it 
was of no use. On we went, and the inequalities of 
the surface gave an irregularity of motion which was 
uncomfortable and alarming. We turned to this side 
and that ; we bounced and bumped ; and the rawhide 
ropes, which must have been greatly frayed and cut 
by the snow-crust, now gave way in several places, 
and I knew that the mattress would soon separate 
into its original cushions, if indeed they still could be 
called cushions. Fearing increased danger should we 
now continue bound together in a bunch, I jerked 
apart the shawl-knot under my arms, and the next 
moment, it seemed to me, there was a general disso- 
lution of our connection with each other. Fortu- 
nately, we were now near the bottom of the slope, 
for while some of us stuck fast to the cushions, others 
rolled over, or slid, independent of any projection, 
while I, being thrown forward on my feet, actually 
ran downhill ! I had just succeeded in stopping my- 
self when down upon me came the rest of the com- 
pany, all prostrate in some position or other. 

FTow from an unwieldy mass of shawls came a cry : 

“Oh, Albert Dusante ! Where are you? Lucille ! 
Lucille ! ” 

Instantly sprang to one foot good Mrs. Aleshine, 
her other foot being entangled in a mass of shawls 
which dragged behind her. Her bonnet was split 
open and mashed down over her eyes. In her left 
hand she waved a piece of yellow flannel, which in 
her last mad descent she had torn from some part of 
141 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


the person of Mrs. Leeks, and in the other a bunch of 
stout dead weeds, which she had seized and pulled up 
by the roots as she had passed them. Her dress was 
ripped open down her rotund back, and the earth from 
the weed-roots had bespattered her face. From the 
midst of this dilapidation her round eyes sparkled 
with excitement. Hopping on one foot, the shawls 
and a part of a cushion still attached to the other, 
she shouted : 

“The Dusantes ! They are the Dusantes ! ” 

Then, pitching forward on her knees before the two 
strange ladies, who had now tumbled into each other’s 
arms, she cried : 

“Oh, which is Emily, and which is Lucille?” 

I had rushed toward Ruth, who had clung to a cush- 
ion and was now sitting upon it, when Mrs. Leeks, 
who was close beside her, arose to her feet and stood 
upright. One foot was thrust through her own bonnet, 
and her clothes gave evidence of the frenzy and power 
of Mrs. Aleshine’s grasp, but her mien was dignified 
and her aspect stately. 

“Barb’ry Aleshine!” she exclaimed, “if them Du- 
santes has dropped down from heaven at your very 
feet, can’t you give ’em a minute to feel their ribs and 
see if their legs and arms is broken ? ” 

The younger lady now turned her head toward Mrs. 
Aleshine. “I am Lucille,” she said. 

In a moment the good woman’s arms were around 
her neck. “I always liked you the best of the two,” 
she whispered into the ear of the astonished young 
lady. 

Having found that Ruth was unhurt, I ran to the 
assistance of the others. The gentleman had just 
142 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


arisen from a cushion, upon which, lying flat on his 
back, he had slid over the grass, still holding under 
one arm the package from which he had refused to 
part. I helped him to raise the elder lady to her 
feet. She had been a good deal shaken, and much 
frightened, but although a little bruised, she had re- 
ceived no important injury. 

I went to fill a leather pocket-cup from a brook 
near by, and when I returned I found the gentleman 
standing, confronted by Mrs. Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, 
and Ruth, while his own companions were regarding 
the group with eager interest. 

“Yes,” he was saying, “my name is Dusante. But 
why do you ask at this moment ? Why do you show 
such excited concern on the subject?” 

“Why?” exclaimed Mrs. Leeks. “I will tell you 
why, sir. My name is Mrs. Leeks, and this is Mrs. 
Aleshine, and if you are the Mr. Dusante with the 
house on the desert island, this is the Mrs. Craig who 
was married in that very house, and the gentleman 
here with the water is Mr. Craig, who wrote you the 
letter, which I hope you got. And if that isn’t reason 
enough for our wantin’ to know if you are Mr. Du- 
sante, I’d like to be told what more there could 
be!” 

“It’s them ! Of course it’s them ! ” cried Mrs. Ale- 
shine. “I had a feelin’ while we was scootin’ down- 
hill that they was near and dear to us, though exactly 
why and how, I didn’t know. And she’s told me she’s 
Lucille, and of course the other must be Emily, 
though what relations — ” 

“Am I to understand,” interrupted the gentleman, 
looking with earnest animation from one to the other 
143 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


of us, “that you are the good people who inhabited 
my house on the island ?” 

“The very ones ! ” cried Mrs. Aleshine. “And what 
relation are you to Emily and Lucille to her ? ” 

The gentleman stepped backward and laid down 
the package which he had held under his arm, and 
advancing toward me with outstretched hands, and 
with tears starting to his eyes, he exclaimed : 

“And this man, then, to whom I owe so much, is Mr. 
Craig?” 

“Owe me ! ” I said. “It is to you that we owe our 
very lives, and our escape from death in mid-ocean.” 

“Do not speak of it,” he said, shaking his head, with 
a sorrowful expression on his face. “You owe me 
nothing. I would to Heaven it were not so ! But we 
will not talk of that now. And this is Mrs. Craig,” he 
continued, taking Ruth by the hand, “the fair lady 
whose nuptials were celebrated in my house. And 
Mrs. Leeks, and Mrs. Aleshine ! ” As he spoke he 
shook hands with each. “How I have longed to meet 
you ! I have thought of you every day since I re- 
turned to my island and discovered that you had been 
—I wish I could say— my guests. But where are the 
reverend gentleman and the three mariners ? I hope 
nothing has befallen them ! ” 

“Alas !— for three of them at least,” ejaculated Mrs. 
Aleshine ; “they have left us, but they are all right. 
And now, sir, if you would tell us what relation you 
are to Emily, and what Lucille—” 

“Barb’ry ! ” cried Mrs. Leeks, making a dash toward 
her friend, “can’t you give the man a minute to 
breathe ? Don’t you see he’s so dumflustered that he 
hardly knows who he is himself? If them two women 
144 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


was to sink down dead with hunger and hard slidin’ 
right afore your very eyes while you was askin’ what 
relation they was to each other and to him, it would 
no more’n serve you right ! We’d better be seein’ if 
anything’s the matter with ’em, and what we can do 
for ’em.” 

At this moment the younger of Mr. Dusante’s ladies 
stepped quickly forward. “Ok, Mrs. Craig, Mrs. Leeks, 
and Mrs. Aleshine ! ” she exclaimed, “I’m just dying 
to know all about you ! ” 

“And which, contrariwise,” cried Mrs. Aleshine, “is 
the same with us, exactly.” 

“Of all places in the world,” continued the young 
lady, “that we should meet here !” 

No one could have been more desirous than I was 
to know all about these Dusantes, and to discuss the 
strange manner of our meeting ; but I saw that Euth 
was looking very pale and faint, and that the elder 
Dusante lady had sat down again upon the ground as 
though obliged to do so by sheer exhaustion, and I 
therefore hailed with a double delight the interrup- 
tion of further explanations by the appearance of two 
men on horseback who came galloping toward us. 

They belonged to the house which I had noticed 
from the road above, and one of them had seen our 
swift descent doVn the mountain-side. At first he 
had thought the black object he saw sliding over the 
snow-slopes was a rock or a mass of underbrush, but 
his keen eye soon told him that it was a group of 
human beings, and summoning a companion, he had 
set out for the foot of the mountain as soon as horses 
could be caught and saddled. 

The men were much surprised when they heard 
145 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


the details of our adventure, but as it was quite plain 
that some members of our party needed immediate 
nourishment and attention, the questions and ex- 
planations were made very short. The men dis- 
mounted from their horses, and the elder Dusante 
lady was placed upon one of them, one man leading 
the animal and the other supporting the lady. Ruth 
mounted the other horse, and I walked by her to 
assist her in keeping her seat, but she held fast to the 
high pommel of the saddle, and got on very well. 
Mr. Dusante took his younger companion on one arm, 
and his package under the other, while Mrs. Leeks, 
having relieved her foot from the encircling bonnet, 
and Mrs. Aleshine, now free from the entangling 
shawls, followed in the rear. The men offered to 
come back with the horses for them, if they would 
wait, but the two women declared that they were 
quite able to walk, and intended to do no waiting, 
and they trudged vigorously after us. The sun was 
now high, and the air down here was quite different 
from that of the mountain-side, being pleasant and 
almost warm. The men said that the snows above 
would probably soon melt, as it was much too early 
in the season for snow to lie long on these lower sides 
of the mountains. 

Our way lay over an almost level plain for about a 
mile. A portion of it was somewhat rough, so that 
when we reached the low house to which we were 
bound, we were all very glad indeed to get there. 
The house belonged to the two men, who owned a 
small ranch here. One of them was married, and his 
wife immediately set herself to work to attend to our 
needs. Her home was small, its rooms few, and her 
146 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


larder very plain in quality, but everything she had 
was placed at our disposal. Her own bed was given 
to the elder Dusante lady, who took immediate pos- 
session of it $ and after a quickly prepared but plen- 
tiful meal of fried pork, corn-bread, and coffee, the 
rest of us stretched ourselves out to rest wherever we 
could find a place. Before lying down, however, I 
had, at Ruth’s earnest solicitation, engaged one of the 
men to ride to the railroad station to inquire about 
Mr. Enderton, and to inform him of our safety. By 
taking a route which ran parallel with the mountain 
chain, but at some distance from it, the station, the 
man said, could be reached without encountering 
snow. 

None of us had had proper rest during the past two 
nights, and we slept soundly until dark, when we were 
aroused to partake of supper. All of us, except the 
elder Dusante lady, who preferred to remain in bed, 
gathered around the table. After supper a large fire, 
principally of brushwood, was built upon the hearth, 
and with the bright blaze, two candles, and a lamp, 
the low room appeared light and cheery. We drew 
up about the fire— for the night was cool— on what- 
ever chairs, stools, or boxes we could find, and no 
sooner had we all seated ourselves than Mrs. Aleshine 
exclaimed : 

“Now, Mr. Dusante, it ain’t in the power of mortal 
man, nor woman neither, — and if put the other way it 
might be stronger,— to wait any longer before knowin’ 
what relation Lucille is to Emily, and you to them, and 
all about that house of yours on the island. If I’d 
blown up into bits this day through holdin’ in my 
wantin’ to know, I shouldn’t have wondered ! And if 
147 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


it hadn’t been for hard sleep, I don’t believe I could 
have held in nohow ! ” 

“ That’s my mind exactly,” said Mrs. Leeks, “and 
though I know there’s a time for all things, and don’t 
believe in crowdin’ questions on played-out people, I 
do think, Mr. Dusante, that if I could have caught up 
with you when we was cornin’ over here, I’d have 
asked you to speak out on these p’ints. But you’re a 
long-legged walker, which Mrs. Aleshine is not, and it 
wouldn’t have done to leave her behind.” 

“Which she wouldn’t have been,” said Mrs. Aleshine, 
“long legs or short.” 

Buth and I added our entreaties that Mr. Dusante 
should tell his story, and the good ranchman and his 
wife said that if there was anything to be done in the 
story-telling line they were in for it, strong ; and 
quitting their work of clearing away supper things, 
they brought an old hair trunk from another room, 
and sat down just behind Mrs. Leeks. 

The younger Dusante lady, who, having been di- 
vested of her wraps, her veil, and the woollen shawl 
that had been tied over her head, had proved to be 
a very pretty girl with black eyes, here declared that 
it had been her intention at the first opportunity to 
get us to tell our story, but as we had asked first, she 
supposed we ought to be satisfied first. 

“I do not wish, my good friends,” said Mr. Dusante, 
“to delay for a moment longer than necessary your 
very pardonable curiosity concerning me and my 
family. And I must say at the same time that al- 
though your letter, sir, gave me a very clear account 
of your visit to my island, there are many things 
which naturally could not be contained within the 
148 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


limits of a letter, and about which I am most anxious 
to make inquiries. But these I will reserve until my 
own narration is finished. 

“My name is Albert Dusante. It may interest you 
to know that my father was a Frenchman and my 
mother an American lady from New England. I was 
born in France, but have lived very little in that 
country, and for a great part of my life have been a 
merchant in Honolulu. For the past few years, how- 
ever, I have been enabled to free myself in a great 
degree from the trammels of business, and to devote 
myself to the pursuits of a man of leisure. I have 
never married, and this young lady is my sister.” 

“Then what relation,” began Mrs. Aleshine, “is she 
to-” 

At this moment the hand of Mrs. Leeks, falling 
heavily into the lap of the speaker, stopped this ques- 
tion, and Mr. Dusante proceeded : 

“Our parents died when Lucille was an infant, and 
we have no near blood-relations.” 

At this the faces of both Mrs. Aleshine and Mrs. 
Leeks assumed expressions as if they had each just 
received a letter superscribed in an unknown hand, 
and were wondering who it could possibly be 
from. 

“The lady who is now resting in the adjoining room,” 
continued Mr. Dusante, “is a dear friend who has been 
adopted by me as a mother.” 

“Upon my word ! ” burst from Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine, in as much unison of time and tone as if 
the words had been a response in a church service, 
while Miss Lucille leaned back against the wall near 
which she sat, and laughed gleefully; Mr. Dusante, 
149 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


however, continued his statements with the same quiet 
gravity with which he had begun : 

“This lady was a dear friend of my mother, al- 
though younger than she. I adopted her as a mother 
to my little orphan sister, and, consequently, placed 
her in the same maternal relation to myself, doing this 
with much earnest satisfaction, for I hoped to be able 
to return, as a son, something of the tender care and 
affection which she would bestow on Lucille as a 
daughter.” 

“So she is Emily?” cried Mrs. Aleshine. 

“She adopted our name,” answered the speaker, 
“and she is Mrs. Emily Dusante.” 

“And she is your adopted mother f ” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine. 

“Adopted mother ! ” ejaculated Mrs. Leeks. 

“Yes,” answered Mr. Dusante. 

“And that is the only relation she is to you two? ” 
said Mrs. Leeks. 

“And you to her?” added Mrs. Aleshine. 

“Most assuredly,” answered Mr. Dusante. 

Here Mrs. Leeks leaned back in her chair, folded 
her hands in her lap, and ejaculated, “Well, well!” 
and then allowed her face to assume a rigid intention 
of having nothing more to say at the present moment. 

“One thing is certain,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine, in 
a tone which indicated that she did not care who 
heard her, “I always liked Lucille the best ! ” 

At this Ruth and I exchanged smiles with Miss 
Lucille, and Mr. Dusante proceeded : 

“I do not wish to occupy too much of your time 
with our personal affairs, and will therefore state that 
the island on which you found refuge, and where I 
150 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


wish most heartily I had been present to act as host, 
was bought by me as a retreat from the annoyances 
of business and the exactions of society. I built there 
a good house —’ 7 

“Which it truly was,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “with 
fixtures in it for water, and lettin’ it off, which I 
never saw in a house so far out of town.” 

“I furnished it suitably,” said Mr. Dusante. “We 
had books and music, and for several years we passed 
vacations there which were both enjoyable and profit- 
able. But of late my sister has found the place 
lonely, and we have travelled a good deal, making 
intermittent and often short visits to the island. 

“As I never cared to leave any one on that lonely 
spot during our absences from it, I arranged a gateway 
of bars across the only opening in the reef, with the 
intention of preventing marauding visits from fishing- 
boats or other small craft which might be passing 
that way. As the island was out of the ordinary 
track of vessels, I did not imagine that my bars would 
ever prove an obstacle to unfortunate castaways who 
might seek a refuge there.” 

“Which they didn’t,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine, 
“for under we bobbed.” 

“I never exactly understood,” said Mr. Dusante, 
“and I hope to have it explained to me in due time, 
how you passed my bars without removing them. 
And I have had a sore weight upon my conscience 
since I discovered that shipwrecked persons, fleeing 
to my house from the perils of the sea, should have 
found those inhospitable bars in their way—” 

“Which is a weight you might as well cast off, and 
be done with it,” said Mrs. Leeks, her deep-set no- 
151 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


tions on the rights of property obliging her to speak ] 
“for if a man hasn’t a right to lock up his house when 
he goes away and leaves it, I don’t know what rights 
anybody has about anything. Me, or Mrs. Aleshine, 
or anybody else here who has a house, might just as 
well go off tra veilin’, or to town, visitin’, and leave 
our front door unlocked, and the yard gate swingin’ 
on its hinges, because we was afraid that some tramp 
or other body with no house or home might come 
along and not be able to get in and make himself com- 
fortable. Your business, sir, when you left that house 
and all your belongin’s on that island, was to leave 
everything tight and safe, and the business of people 
sailin’ in ships was to go on their proper way, and not 
be runnin’ into each other. And if these last men- 
tioned didn’t see fit to do that, and so got into trouble, 
they should have gone to some island where there 
was people to attend to ’em, just as the tramps 
should go to the poorhouse. And this is what we 
would have done— not meanin’ the poorhouse— if we 
hadn’t been so over long-headed as to get into a leaky 
boat, which, I wish it understood, is sayin’ nothin’ 
against Mr. Craig.” 

“That’s true,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “for nobody has 
got a right to complain that a fellow-bein’ locks his 
own door after him. But it does seem to me, sir, that 
in such scattered neighborhoods as your island is in, 
it might be a good thing to leave somethin’ to eat and 
drink— perhaps in a bottle or in a tin pail— at the 
outside of your bars for them as might come along 
shipwrecked, and not be able to get inside on account 
of bein’ obliged to come in a boat, and not as we did. 
And so, when they found they’d have to go on, they 
152 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

might have somethin’ to keep up their strength till 
they got to another house.” 

“Now, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, “when 
you start off on a journey to Japan or any other place, 
and leave mince-pies and buttered toast a-stickin’ on 
the p’ints of your pickets for tramps that might come 
along and need ’em, you can do that kind of talkin’. 
But as that time hasn’t come, let’s hear the rest of 
Mr. Dusante’s story.” 

“When I first visited my island this year,” con- 
tinued the narrator, “we made but a short stay, as we 
were all desirous of taking a somewhat extended sea 
voyage in my steam-yacht. We visited several places 
of interest, and when we returned, just six weeks ago 
to-day—” 

“Just one week, lackin’ a day,” exclaimed Mrs. 
Leeks, “after we left that spot ! ” 

“If I’d knowed,” said Mrs. Aleshine, rising to her 
feet, “that you’d be back so soon, I’d have made them 
sailormen live on fish, I’d have eaten garden truck 
myself, and I’d be bound I’d have made the flour hold 
out for six days more for the rest of ’em, if I’d had 
to work my fingers to the skin and bone to do it ! ” 
Then she sat down solemnly. 

“When we returned,” continued Mr. Dusante, “I 
was pleased to find my bars intact, and when these 
were unlocked, and the boat from our yacht went 
through with ourselves and our servants, it was very 
agreeable to notice the good order which seemed to 
prevail everywhere. As we passed from the wharf to 
the house, not even fallen boughs or weeds were seen 
to indicate that we had been away from the place for 
more than two months. When we entered the house. 


153 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 

my mother and sister immediately ascended to their 
chambers, and when the windows had been opened I 
heard them from above calling to each other and re- 
marking upon the freshness and cleanliness of the 
rooms. I went to my library, and when I had thrown 
open the window I was struck with the somewhat 
peculiar air of order which seemed to obtain in the 
room. The books stood upon their shelves with a 
remarkable regularity, and the chairs and other furni- 
ture were arranged with a precision which impressed 
me as unusual. In a moment, sir, I saw your letter 
upon the table addressed to me. Greatly astonished, 
I opened and read it. 

“When I had finished it my amazement was great 
indeed, but obeying an instant impulse, I stepped into 
the dining-room, which a servant had opened, and 
took the ginger-jar from the mantelpiece. When I 
lifted from it the little brown-paper parcel, and be- 
neath it saw the money which had been mentioned in 
the letter, you may imagine the condition of my mind. 
I did not take out the money, nor count it, but cover- 
ing it again with the paper parcel, which I believed 
contained fish-hooks, and with the jar in my hands, I 
returned to the library, where I sat down to ponder 
upon these most astounding revelations. While so 
doing my mother and sister hastily entered the room. 
Lucille declared in an excited manner that she be- 
lieved that the brownies or some other fairies had been 
there while we were away and had kept the house in 
order. The whole place was actually cleaner, she 
said, than when we left it. She had taken down a 
thin dress from her closet, and it looked as if it had 
just come from the hand of a laundress, with the 

154 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


ruffles ironed smoother and more evenly than they 
had ever been since it was first stitched together. 

‘ Albert/ said my mother, her face pale, ‘ there has 
been somebody in this house ! 7 Then she went on to 
say that the windows, which were left unwashed 
because we went away in somewhat of a hurry, were 
as bright and clean as if the maids had just been rub- 
bing them j the floors and furniture were cleaner and 
freer from dust than they had ever been before j and 
the whole house looked as if we had just left it yes- 
terday. 4 In fact , 7 she said, ‘it is unnaturally clean ! 7 77 

During this part of Mr. Dusante 7 s story Mrs. Leeks 
and Mrs. Aleshine sat very quiet, with an air of sedate 
humility upon their faces, but I could see by the 
proud light in their eyes that they felt their superior- 
ity to ordinary women, although they were properly 
resolved not to show such feeling. 

“At that moment , 77 continued Mr. Dusante, “a ser- 
vant came hurrying into the room, and informed us 
that the flour was all gone, and that there was scarcely 
anything in the pantries to eat. At this my mother 
and my sister, who knew that an abundance of pro- 
visions had been left in the house, looked at each 
other aghast. But before they could express their 
consternation in words, I addressed them. ‘ My dear 
mother , 7 said I, ‘and Lucille, there truly has been 
some one in this house. By this letter I am informed 
that for several weeks eight persons have lived here 
under this roof, a marriage has been solemnized, and 
the happy couple have gone forth from our doors. 
These persons have eaten our food, they have made 
use of ‘our property, and this has been their temporary 
home. But they are good people, honest and true- 
155 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


hearted, for they have left the house in better order 
than they found it, and more than the price of all they 
have consumed is in that ginger-jar.’ And thereupon 
I read them your letter, sir. 

“I cannot undertake to describe the wonder and 
absorbing interest with which this letter filled our 
minds. All needful stores were brought ashore from 
the yacht, which lay outside the reef, and we began 
our usual life on the island. But none of the occupa- 
tions or recreations in which we formerly employed 
our time now possessed any attractions for us. Our 
minds were filled with thoughts of the persons who 
had been so strangely living in our house, and our 
conversation was mainly made up of surmises as to 
what sort of people they were, whether or not we 
should ever see them, and similar suppositions.” 

“ Yes, indeed ! ” exclaimed Miss Lucille. “I thought 
of you by day and by night, and pictured you all in 
various ways, but never as you really are. Sometimes 
I used to think that the boat in which you went away 
had been sunk in a storm in which you were all 
drowned, and that perhaps your ghosts would come 
back and live in our house, and sleep in our beds, and 
clean our windows, and wash and iron our clothes, and 
do all sorts of things in the night.” 

“ Goodnessful, gracious me!” cried Mrs. Aleshine, 
“ don’t talk that way ! The idee of bein’ a cold ghost, 
goin’ about in the dark, is worse than slidin’ down a 
snow- mountain, even if you had to do it on the bare 
of your back.” 

“Barb’ry !” said Mrs. Leeks, severely. 

“The idee is just as chillin’,” replied her undaunted 
friend. 


156 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

“Two things connected with this matter/’ continued 
Mr. Dusante, “ weighed heavily on my mind. One of 
these I have already mentioned— the cruel inhospi- 
tality of the barred entrance.” 

I had refrained from adding to the interruptions to 
Mr. Dusante’s narrative, but I now felt impelled to 
assure the gentleman, on behalf of myself and wife, 
that we shared the opinions of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
Aleshine, and felt that he could in no way be blamed 
for thus protecting his private property. 

“You are very good,” said Mr. Dusante, “but I will 
say here that there are now no bars to that entrance. 
I have left some people on the island, who will take 
care of my property and succor any unfortunate casta- 
ways who may arrive there. The other matter to 
which I alluded was, however, the heavier load which 
oppressed me. This was the money in the ginger-jar. 
I could not endure to reflect that I had been paid 
actual money for the hospitality I would have been 
so glad to offer to you poor shipwrecked people. 
Every sentiment of my being rebelled against such a 
thing. I was grieved ; I was ashamed. At last I de- 
termined I would bear no longer the ignominy of 
this brand of inhospitality, and that, with the ginger- 
jar in my hand, I would search over the world, if 
necessary, for the persons who in my absence had 
paid board to me, and return to them the jar with 
its contents uncounted and untouched. Your letter 
informed me of the island to which you were bound, 
and if I did not find you there I could discover to 
what port you had taken your departure. There I 
could make further inquiries, and so follow you. 
When I proposed this plan to my family they agreed 
157 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


to it instantly, for tlieir interest in the matter was al- 
most as great as mine, and in a day or two we started 
on our quest. 

a I easily traced you to San Francisco, and found 
the hotel at which you had stopped. Here I obtained 
fresh news of you, and learned that you had started 
East, and that the destination of the party was be- 
lieved to be Philadelphia. I had hoped that I should 
meet with you before you left California. But sup- 
posing that by that time you had reached your des- 
tination, or were, at least, far on your way, I yielded 
to the solicitations of my sister and made some ex- 
cursions in California, intending then to follow you 
to Philadelphia, and there to advertise for Mr. Craig, 
if he could not otherwise be found. However, by the 
rarest and most fortunate of chances, we have met 
thus early, and for this I can never be too devoutly 
thankful.” 

“Nor we,” said I, earnestly, “for our greatly desired 
acquaintance with you and your family could not 
have begun too soon.” 

“Now,” said Mr. Dusante, “I will perform the duty 
for which my journey was undertaken, and I assure 
you it is a great pleasure to me to be able so soon to 
carry out this cherished purpose.” 

He then took up from the floor by his side the 
package which he had so safely guarded during his 
swift and perilous descent of the mountain-side, and 
which he had since kept close by him. Placing this 
upon his knee, he removed the light shawl in which 
it had been rolled, and then several pieces of wrap- 
ping-paper, revealing to our eyes the familiar fat lit- 
tle ginger-jar which had stood on the mantelpiece of 
158 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


the dining-room in the house on the island, and in 
which we had deposited our board money. 

“It would be simply impossible for me,” said Mr. 
Dusante, “to consent to retain in my possession money 
paid for the aid which I involuntarily rendered to 
shipwrecked people. Had I been present on the isl- 
and, that aid would have been most heartily and 
freely given, and the fact of my absence makes no 
difference whatever in regard to my feelings on the 
subject of your paying for the food and shelter yon 
found at my house. Having understood from Mr. 
Craig’s letter that it was Mrs. Leeks who superin- 
tended the collection and depositing of the money, I 
now return to you, madam, this jar with its contents.” 

“And which,” said Mrs. Leeks, sitting up very 
rigidly, with her hands clasped behind her, “I don’t 
take. If it had been a day and a night, or even two 
nights and over a Sunday, it wouldn’t have mattered ; 
but when me and Mrs. Aleshine— the rest of the 
party can speak for themselves— stays for weeks and 
weeks, without leave or license, in a man’s house, we 
pay our board— of course deductin’ services. Good 
night.” 

With that she arose, and walked, very erect, into 
the adjoining room. 

“It was all very well, Mr. Dusante,” said Mrs. Ale- 
shine, “for you to try to carry out what you thought 
was right; but we have our idees as to what our 
duty is, and you have your idees as to what your duty 
is, and consciences is even.” 

Having said this, she followed her friend. 

Mr. Dusante looked surprised and troubled, and he 
turned toward me. “My dear sir,” said I, “those two 
159 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


good women are very sensitive in regard to right and 
justice, and I think it will be well not to press this 
subject upon them. As for my wife and me, neither 
of us would consent to touch money which was placed 
in that jar by Mrs. Leeks with the expectation that 
no one but you or one of your family would take 
it out.” 

“Very well, sir,” said Mr. Dusante, replacing the 
wrapping-paper around the jar, “I will drop the sub- 
ject for the present. But you will allow me to say, 
sir, that I also am very sensitive in regard to right 
and justice.” \ 

Early the next morning the man who had been sent 
to the railroad station came back, bringing news that 
a four-horse wagon would shortly be sent for us, and 
also bearing a letter from Mr. Enderton to Ruth. In 
this that gentleman informed his daughter that he 
was quite well, but that he had suffered anxiety on 
account of her probable hardships in the abandoned 
stage-coach. He had hoped, however, that the snow 
which had precluded his return with assistance had 
fallen lightly in the elevated position in which she 
had been left, and he had trusted also that Mr. Craig 
had bethought himself to build a fire somewhere near 
the coach, where his daughter might be warmed, and 
that the provisions, of which he knew an ample quan- 
tity had been packed for the trip, had been properly 
heated for her and given to her at suitable intervals. 
This anxiety, he said, had added very much to his 
own mental disquietude occasioned by the violent vi- 
tuperations and unjust demands of the driver of the 
stage-coach, who had seen fit to attack him with all 
manner of abuse, and might even have resorted to 
160 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


personal violence had it not been for the interference 
of bystanders and the locking of his room door. He 
was now, however, much relieved by the departure 
of this driver, and by the news that his daughter had 
reached a place of safety, which, of course, he had 
supposed she would do, her detention having occurred 
on an ordinary route of travel. 

While waiting for the arrival of the wagon, the ad- 
ventures of Mrs. Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, and myself, as 
well as those of Ruth and her father, from the time 
the one party left America and the other China, were 
related at length to the Dusantes, who showed a deep 
interest in every detail, and asked many questions. 

Mrs. Dusante, whose nervous equilibrium had been 
fully restored by her night’s rest, and who, although 
feeling a little stiff and bruised, now declared herself 
quite well, proved to be a very pleasant lady of fifty- 
five or thereabouts. She was of a quiet disposition, 
but her speech and manner showed that in former 
years, at least, she had been a woman of society, and 
I soon found out that she was much interested in the 
study of character. This interest was principally 
shown in the direction of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
shine, whom she evidently looked upon as most re- 
markable women. If any of her sentiments were 
those of admiration, however, they were not returned 
in kind. Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine had but a 
small opinion of her. 

“ There’s mother-in-laws, and stepmothers, and real 
mothers, and grandmothers, and sometimes great- 
grandmothers livin’,” said Mrs. Leeks to me, apart ; 
“but though Mr. Dusante may be a well-meanin’ man, 
—and I don’t doubt he is,— and wishin’, I haven’t the 
161 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


least reason to disbelieve, to do his whole duty by his 
fellow-men, still I must say, bein’ brought up as I 
was, he hasn’t any right to make a new kind of 
mother. To be sure, a man can adopt children, but 
that isn’t goin’ backward, like this is, which is ag’in’ 
nat’ral law and gospel.” 

“I expect,” said Mrs. Aleshine, wTlo was with us, 
“that them French has got fashions that we don’t 
know about, and thankful we ought to be that we 
don’t ! I never had no patience with French heels 
and French arsenic-green beans. And now, if there’s 
to be adoptin’ of mothers in this country, the next 
thing will be gullotynes.” 

“I don’t see,” said I, “why you look upon the Du- 
santes as French people. They are just as much 
American as French.” 

“Well,” said Mrs. Leeks, “it’s not for me and Mrs. 
Aleshine to set ourselves up to judge other people. 
In our part of the country we don’t adopt mothers. 
But if they do it in France, or the Sandwich Islands, 
or down East, I don’t know that we ought to have 
anything to say.” 

“He might as well have adopted a father at the 
same time,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “although, to be sure, 
he would have had to been particular to take one that 
was acquainted with Mrs. Dusante, and not had ’em 
strangers to each other, though parents to him.” 

“If I was you, Barb’ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Leeks, 
“I’d adopt some sort of rag to the top of my head to 
serve for a bonnet, for here comes the wagon, and I 
suppose now we’ll be oft.” 

We took leave of the kind-hearted ranch people, who 
looked upon us as a godsend into their lonely lives, 
162 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


and disposed ourselves as comfortably as we could 
iu the large wagon. Our journey of seven or eignt 
miles to the railroad station was slow, and over ways 
that were rough. Mrs. Dusante was a delicate woman 
and not used to hardship, whereas Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine were exceedingly vigorous and tough. 
The consequence of this difference was that the kindly 
hearts of the latter prompted them to do everything 
they could to prevent Mrs. Dusante feeling the bumps 
and jolts, and to give her such advantages of wraps 
and position as would help her to bear better the 
fatigues of the journey. 

In doing this these good women gradually forgot 
the adopted mother, and came to think only of the 
very pleasant lady who needed their attentions, and 
who took such a lively and agreeable interest in their 
family histories, their homes, their manner of living, 
and everything that pertained to them, and before 
we reached the end of our trip these three were talk- 
ing together like old friends. Ruth and Miss Lucille 
had also struck up a warm acquaintance, while I 
found Mr. Dusante a very entertaining man— of sedate 
and careful speech, ingenious ideas, and of a very 
courteous disposition. 

When we arrived at the railroad station we were 
met by Mr. Enderton, who showed a moderate de- 
gree of pleasure at seeing us, and an immoderate 
amount of annoyance, exhibited principally to me, in 
being obliged to give up to the women of our party 
the large room he had occupied in the only lodging- 
house in the little settlement. 

When I informed him that the strangers with us 
were the Dusantes, on whose island we had been 
163 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


staying, he at first listened vaguely. He had always 
looked upon the Dusante family as a sort of fable used 
by Mrs. Leeks to countenance her exactions of money 
from the unfortunate sojourners on the island. But 
when I told him what Mr. Dusante had done, and re- 
lated how he had brought the board money with him, 
and had offered to pay it back to us, an eager interest 
was aroused in him. 

“I do not wonder / 7 he exclaimed; “that the con- 
science-stricken man wishes to give the money back; 
but that any one should refuse what actually belongs 
to him or her is beyond my comprehension ! One 
thing is certain— I shall receive my portion. Fif- 
teen dollars a week for my daughter and myself that 
woman charged me, and I will have it back . 77 

“My dear sir , 77 I said, “your board was reduced to 
the same sum as that paid by the rest of us— four 
dollars a week each . 77 

“I call to mind no reduction , 77 said Mr. Enderton. 
“I remember distinctly the exorbitant sum charged 
me for board on a desert island. It made a deep im- 
pression upon me . 77 

“I do not care to talk any further on this subject , 77 
I said. “You must settle it with Mrs. Leeks . 77 

Mr. Enderton gave a great sniff, and walked away 
with dignity. I could not but laugh as I imagined his 
condition two minutes after he had stated his opinions 
on this subject to Mrs. Leeks. 

When Mr. Dusante had started from San Francisco 
on his search for us, he had sent his heavy baggage 
ahead of him to Ogden City, where he purposed to 
make his first stop. He supposed that we might pos- 
sibly here diverge from our homeward-bound route 
164 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


in order to visit the Mormon metropolis, and, if we 
had done so, he did not wish to pass ns. It was there- 
fore now agreed that we should all go to Ogden City, 
and there await the arrival of our effects left in the 
sno wed-up vehicles on the mountain-side. We made 
arrangements with the station-master that these should 
be forwarded to us as soon as the stage-coach and the 
carriage could be brought down. All the baggage of 
my party was on the coach, and it consisted only of a 
few valises bought in San Francisco, and a package 
containing two life-preservers, which Mrs. Leeks and 
Mrs. Aleshine said they should take home with them, 
if they took nothing else. 

On the morning after our arrival at Ogden City, Mr. 
Dusante took me aside. “Sir,” he said, “I wish to 
confide to you my intentions regarding the jar con- 
taining the money left by your party in my house, and 
I trust you will do nothing to thwart them. When 
your baggage arrives, you, with your party, will doubt- 
less continue your eastern way, and we shall return to 
San Francisco. But the jar, with its contents, shall be 
left behind to be delivered to Mrs. Leeks. If you will 
take charge of the jar, and hand it to her, sir, I shall 
be obliged greatly.” 

I promised Mr. Dusante that I would not interfere 
with his intentions, but asserted that I could, on no 
account, take charge of the jar. The possession of 
that piece of pottery, with its contents, was now a 
matter of dispute between him and Mrs. Leeks, and 
must be settled by them. 

“Very well, then, sir,” he said. “I shall arrange to 
depart before you and your company, and I shall leave 
the jar, suitably packed, in the care of the clerk of 
165 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


this hotel, with directions to hand it to Mrs. Leeks 
after I am gone. Thus there will be nothing for her 
to do but to receive it .’ 7 

Some one now came into the smoking-room, where 
we were sitting, and no more was said on this subject. 
Mr. Dusante’s statement of his intention very much 
amused me, for Mrs. Leeks had previously taken me 
into her confidence in regard to her intentions in this 
matter. “Mr. Dusante,” she had said, “hasn’t dropped 
a word more about the money in that ginger-jar, but 
I know just as well as he does what he’s goin’ to dc 
about it. When the time comes to go, he’s goin’ to 
slip off quietly, leavin’ that jar behind him, thinkin’ 
then I’ll be obliged to take it, there bein’ nobody to 
give it back to. But he’ll find me just as sharp as he 
is. I got the street and number of his business place 
in Honolulu from his sister,— askin’ about it in an 
offhand way, as if it didn’t mean nothin’,— and if that 
jar is left for me, I’ll pack it in a box, money and all, 
and I’ll express it to Mr. Dusante, and when he gets 
to Honolulu he’ll find it there, and then he’ll know 
that two can play at that sort of game.” 

Knowing Mr. Dusante, and knowing Mrs. Leeks, I 
pictured to myself a box containing a ginger-jar, and 
covered with numerous half-obliterated addresses, 
travelling backward and forward between the Sand- 
wich Islands and Pennsylvania during the lifetime of 
the contestants, and probably, if testamentary desires 
should be regarded, during a great part of the lifetime 
of their heirs. That the wear and tear of the box 
might make it necessary to enclose it in a keg, and 
that eventually the keg might have to be placed in 
a barrel, and that in a hogshead, after a time, seemed 
166 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


to me as likely as any other contingencies which might 
befall this peregrinating ginger-jar. 

We spent three days in Ogden City, and then, the 
weather having moderated very much, and the snow 
on the mountains having melted sufficiently to allow 
the vehicles to be brought down, our effects were for- 
warded to us, and my party and that of Mr. Dusante 
prepared to proceed on our different ways. An east- 
ward-bound train left that evening an hour after we 
received our baggage, but we did not care to depart 
upon such short notice, and so determined to remain 
until the next day. 

In the evening Mr. Dusante came to me to say that 
he was very glad to find that the westward train would 
leave Ogden City early in the morning, so that he and 
his family would start on their journey some hours 
before we should leave. u This suits my plans exactly,” 
he said. “I have left the ginger-jar, securely wrapped, 
and addressed to Mrs. Leeks, with the clerk of the 
hotel, who will deliver it to-morrow immediately 
after my departure. All our preparations are made, 
and we purpose this evening to bid farewell to you 
and our other kind friends, from whom, I assure you, 
we are most deeply grieved to part.” 

I had just replied that we also regretted extremely 
the necessity for this separation, when a boy brought 
me a letter. I opened it, and found it was from Mr. 
Enderton. It read as follows : 

“ Dear Sir: I have determined not to wait here until 
to-morrow, but to proceed eastward by this evening’s 
train. I desire to spend a day in Chicago, and as you 
and the others will probably not wish to stop there, I 
shall, by this means, attain my object without detaining 

167 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


you. My sudden resolution will not give me time to see 
you all before I start, but I have taken a hurried leave 
of my daughter, and this letter will explain my depart- 
ure to the rest. 

“ I will also mention that I have thought it proper, as 
the natural head of our party both by age and position, 
to settle the amicable dispute in regard to the reception 
and disposition of the money paid, under an excusable 
misapprehension, for our board and lodging upon a des- 
ert island. I discovered that the receptacle of this 
money had been left in the custody of the clerk, ad- 
dressed to Mrs. Leeks, who has not only already refused 
to receive it, and would probably do so again, but who 
is, in my opinion, in no wise entitled to hold, possess, or 
dispose of it. I therefore, without making any disturb- 
ance whatever, have taken charge of the package, and 
shall convey it with me to Chicago. When you arrive 
there, I will apportion the contents among us according 
to our several claims. This I regard as a very sensible 
and prudent solution of the little difficulty which has 
confronted us in regard to the disposition of this money. 

“ Yours hurriedly, 

“ David J. Enderton. 

“ P. S. I shall stop at Brandiger’s Hotel, where I 
shall await you.” 


168 


PART VI 

Mr. Enderton’s letter astonished and angered me, 
but in spite of my indignation, I could not help smil- 
ing at the unexpected way in which he had put a stop 
to the probable perpetual peregrinations of the ginger- 
jar. I handed the letter to Mr. Dusante, and when 
he had read it his face flushed, and I could see that he 
was very angry, although he kept his temper under 
excellent control. 

“Sir,” he said presently, “this shall not be allowed. 
That jar, with its contents, is my property until Mrs. 
Leeks has consented to receive it. It is of my own 
option that I return it at all, and I have decided to 
return it to Mrs. Leeks. Any one interfering with my 
intentions steps entirely beyond the line of just and 
warrantable procedure. Sir, I shall not go westward 
to-morrow morning, but, with my family, will accom- 
pany you to Chicago, where I shall require Mr. En- 
derton to return to me my property, which I shall 
then dispose of as I see fit. You must excuse me, sir, 
if anything I have said regarding this gentleman with 
whom you are connected has wounded your sensibili- 
ties.” 


169 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“Oh, don’t think of that/’ I exclaimed. “Pitch into 
Enderton as much as you please, and you may be sure 
that I shall not object. When I took the daughter to 
wife, I did not marry the father. But, of course, for 
my wife’s sake I hope this matter will not be made the 
subject of public comment.” 

“You need have no fear of that,” said Mr. Dusante. 
“And you will allow me to remark that Mr. Ender- 
ton’s wife must have been a most charming lady.” 

“Why do you think so? ” I asked. 

“I judge so,” he answered, with a bow, “from my 
acquaintance with Mrs. Craig.” 

I now went immediately to Ruth, who, I found, 
knew nothing of what had occurred, except that her 
father had gone on to Chicago in advance of our party, 
and had had time only to bid her a hasty good-by. I 
made no remarks on this haste, which would not allow 
Mr. Enderton to take leave of us, but which gave him 
time to write a letter of some length, and as Ruth 
knew nothing of this letter, I determined not to men- 
tion it to her. Her father’s sudden departure sur- 
prised her but little, for she told me that he always 
liked to get to places before the rest of the party with 
whom he might be journeying. 

“Even when we go to church,” she said, “he always 
walks ahead of the rest of us. I don’t understand why 
he likes to do so, but this is one of his habits.” 

When I informed Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine of* 
what had happened, they fairly blazed. 

“I don’t know what Mr. Dusante calls it,” exclaimed 
Mrs. Leeks, “but I know what I call it.” 

“Yes, indeed ! ” cried Mrs. Aleshine, her round eyes 
sparkling with excitement, “if it isn’t ex-honesty, 
170 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


then he ain’t no ex-missionary ! I pity the heathen 
he converted ! ” 

“I'll convert him/’ said Mrs. Leeks, “if ever I lay 
eyes on him ! Walkin’ away with a package with my 
name on it ! He might as well take my gold specta- 
cles or my tortoise-shell comb ! I suppose there’s no 
such thing as ketchin’ up with him, but I’ll telegraph 
after him, and I’ll let him know that if he dares to 
open a package of mine, I’ll put the law on him ! ” 

“That’s so,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “You kin send tele- 
graphs all along the line to one station and another for 
conductors to give to him in the cars, and directed to 
Mr. Enderton, a tall man with gray-mixed hair and a 
stolen bundle. That’s the way they did in our place 
when Abram Marly’s wife fell into the cistern, and he’d 
just took the cars to the city, and they telegraphed to 
him at five different stations to know where he’d left 
the ladder.” 

“Which ain’t a bad idee,” said Mrs. Leeks, “though 
his name will be enough on it without no descrip- 
tion. I’ll do that this minute, and find out about the 
stations from the clerk.” 

“You must be very careful,” I said, “about anything 
of that kind, for the telegrams will be read at the 
stations, and Mr. Enderton might be brought into 
trouble in a way which we all should regret. But a 
despatch may be worded so that he, and no one else, 
would understand it.” 

“Very well,” said Mrs. Leeks, “let’s get at it. 
But I must say that he don’t deserve bein’ saved no 
trouble, for I’m as sure as that I’m a livin’ woman that 
he never saved nobody else no trouble sence the first 
minute he was born.” 


171 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


The following despatch was concocted and sent on 
to Bridger, to be delivered to Mr. Enderton on the 
train : 

“ The package you know of has been stolen. You will 
recognize the thief. If he leaves it at Chicago hotel, let 
him go. If he opens it, clap him in jail. 

“ Mrs. Lecks.” 

“I think that will make him keep his fingers off it / 7 
said Mrs. Lecks. “If Mr. Dusante chooses to send 
somethin 7 of the same kind to some other station, 
it won’t do no harm. And if that Enderton gets so 
skeered that he keeps out of sight and hearin 7 of all of 
us, it’ll be the best thing that’s happened yet. But I 
want you to understand, Mr. Craig, that nothin’ 7 s goin 7 
to be said or done to make your wife feel bad, and 
there’s no need of her hearin’ about what’s been done 
or what’s goin 7 to be done. But I’ll say for her that 
though, of course, Mr. Enderton 7 s her father, and she 
looks up to him as such, she’s a mighty deal livelier 
and gayer-hearted when he’s away than when he’s 
with her. As for the rest of us, there’s no use sayin 7 
nothin’ about our resignedness to the loss of his 
company.” 

“I should say so,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “For if 
there ever was a man who thought of himself ninety- 
nine times before he thought of anybody else once, and 
then as like as not forget that once, he’s the man. 
And it’s not, by no means, that I’m down on mission- 
aries, for it’s many a box I’ve made up for ’em, and 
never begrudged neither money nor trouble, and will 
do it ag’in many times, I hope. But he oughtn’t to 
be called one, havin’ given it up, — unless they gave 
him up, which there’s no knowin’ which it was, — for 
172 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


if there’s anything which shows the good in a man, 
it’s his bein’ willin’ to give up the comforts of a Chris- 
tian land to go and convert heathens ; though bein’ 
willin’ to give up the heathens and go for the comforts 
shows him quite different, besides, as like as not, 
chargin’ double, and only half convertin’.” 

Mr. Dusante was fully determined to go on with us 
until he had recovered possession of the ginger -jar. 
His courteous feelings toward Mrs. Craig and myself 
prevented his saying much about Mr. Enderton, but I 
had good reason to believe that his opinions in regard 
to my father-in-law were not very different from those 
of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. Ever since Mr. 
Enderton had shown his petulant selfishness when 
obliged to give up his room at the railroad station 
for the use of the women of his party, Mr. Dusante 
had looked upon him coldly, and the two had had but 
little to say to each other. 

We were all very glad that our pleasant party was 
not to be broken up, and although there was no res- 
ignation at the absence of the ginger-jar, we started 
on our journey the next day in a pleasanter mood for 
the absence of Mr. Enderton. Before we left, Mr. 
Dusante sent a telegram to Kearney Junction, to be 
delivered to Mr. Enderton when he arrived there. 
What this message was I do not know, but I imagine 
its tone was decided. 

Our journey to Chicago was a pleasant one. We 
had now all become very well acquainted with one 
another, and there was no discordant element in the 
combined party. Some of us were a little apprehen- 
sive of trouble, or annoyance at least, awaiting us in 
Chicago, but we did not speak of it 5 and while Ruth 
173 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 

knew nothing of her father’s misbehavior, it might 
have been supposed that the rest had forgotten it. 

At Chicago we went at once to Brandiger’s Hotel, 
and there we found, instead of Mr. Enderton, a letter 
from him to Ruth. It read as follows : 

“ My dear Daughter: I have determined not to wait 
here, as originally intended, but to go on by myself. I 
am sorry not to meet you here, but it will not be long 
before we are together again, and you know I do not 
like to travel with a party. Its various members always 
incommode me in one way or another. I had proposed 
to go to Philadelphia and wait for you there, but have 
since concluded to stop at Meadowville, a village in the 
interior of Pennsylvania, where, as they have informed 
me, the two women, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, re- 
side. I wish to see the party all together before I take 
final leave of them, and I suppose the two women will 
not consent to go any farther than the country town in 
which they live. Enclosed is a note to your husband re- 
lating to business matters. I hope that he will take the 
best of care of you during the rest of the journey, and 
thus very much oblige 

“Your affectionate Father.” 

This was my note : 

‘ ‘ Mr. Craig. 

“Sir: I should have supposed that you would have 
been able to prevent the insolent messages which have 
been telegraphed to me from some members of your 
party, but it is my lot to be disappointed in those in 
whom I trust. I shall make no answer to these mes- 
sages, but will say to you that I am not to be browbeaten 
in my intention to divide among its rightful claimants 
the money now in my possession. It is not that I care 
for the comparatively paltry sum that will fall to myself 

174 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

and my daughter, but it is the principle of the matter 
for which I am contending. It was due to me that the 
amount should have been returned to me, and to no 
other, that I might make the proper division. I there- 
fore rest upon my principles and my rights; and, desir- 
ing to avoid needless altercations, shall proceed to 
Meadowville, where, when the rest of my party arrive, 
I shall justly apportion the money. I suppose the man 
Dusante will not be foolish enough to protract his useless 
journey farther than Chicago. It is your duty to make 
him see the impropriety of so doing. 

“ Yours, etc., 

“ D. J. Enderton.” 

Ruth’s letter was shown to all the party, and mine 
in private to Mr. Dusante, Mrs. Leeks, and Mrs. 
Aleshine. When the first moments of astonishment 
were over, Mrs. Leeks exclaimed : 

“Well, after all, I don’t know that I’m so very sorry 
that the old sneak has done this, for now we’re rid of 
him for the rest of the trip. And I’m pretty certain, 
from the way he writes, that he hasn’t dipped into 
that jar yet. We’ve skeered him from doin’ that.” 

“But the impidence of him ! ” said Mrs. Aleshine. 
“Think of his goin’ to the very town where we live 
and gettin’ there fust ! He’ll be settin’ on that tavern 
porch, with every loafer in the place about him, and 
tellin’ ’em the whole story of what happened to us from 
beginnin’ to end, till by the time we get there it’ll be 
all over the place and as stale as last week’s bread.” 

“‘The man Dusante,”’ quietly remarked that in- 
dividual, “will not abandon the purpose of his jour- 
ney. He left his island to place in the hands of Mrs. 
Leeks, on behalf of her party, the ginger-jar with the 
175 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


money enclosed. He will therefore go on with you to 
Meadowville, and will there make formal demand, 
and, if necessary, legal requisition, for the possession 
of that jar and that money, after which he will pro- 
ceed to carry out his original intentions.” 

We all expressed our pleasure at having him, with 
his ladies, as companions for the remainder of our 
journey, and Mrs. Leeks immediately offered them 
the hospitalities of her house for as long a time as 
they might wish to stay with her. 

“The weather there,” she said, “is often splendid 
till past Thanksgivin’ day, and nobody could be wel- 
comer than you.” 

“I’d have asked you myself,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “if 
Mrs. Leeks hadn’t done it,— which of course she would, 
bein’ alive,— but I’m goin’ to have Mr. Craig and his 
wife, and as our houses is near, we’ll see each other all 
the time. And if Mr. Enderton chooses to stay awhile 
at the tavern, he can come over to see his daughter 
whenever he likes. I’ll go as fur as that, though no 
further can I go. I’m not the one to turn nobody 
from my door, be he heathen, or just as bad, or wuss. 
But tea once, or perhaps twice, is all that I can find it 
in my heart to offer that man after what he’s done.” 

As the Husantes and Ruth expressed a desire to see 
something of Chicago, where they had never been, 
we remained in that city for two days, feeling that, 
as Mr. Enderton would await our coming, there was 
no necessity for haste. 

Early in the afternoon of the second day I went 
into the parlor of the hotel, where I expected to find 
our party prepared for a sight-seeing excursion. But 
I found the room tenanted only by Mrs. Aleshine, who 
176 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


was sitting with her bonnet and wraps on, ready to 
start forth. I had said but a few words to her when 
Mrs. Leeks entered, without bonnet or shawl, and with 
her knitting in her hand. She took a seat in a large 
easy-chair, put on her spectacles, and proceeded to 
knit. 

“Mrs. Leeks !” exclaimed her friend, in surprise, 
“don’t you intend goin’ out this afternoon? ” 

“No,” said Mrs. Leeks. “I’ve seen all I want to 
see, and I’m goin’ to stay in the house and keep quiet.” 

“Isn’t Mr. Dusante goin’ out this afternoon? ” asked 
Mrs. Aleshine. 

Mrs. Leeks laid her knitting in her lap ; then she 
took off her spectacles, folded them, and placed them 
beside the ball of yarn, and turning her chair around, 
she faced her friend. “Barb’ry Aleshine,” said she, 
speaking very deliberately, “has any such a thing 
got into your mind as that I’m settin’ my cap at Mr. 
Dusante ? ” 

“I don’t say you have, and I don’t say you haven’t,” 
answered Mrs. Aleshine, her fat hands folded on her 
knees, and her round face shining from under her new 
bonnet with an expression of hearty good will. “But 
this I will say,— and I don’t care who hears it,— that 
if you was to set your cap at Mr. Dusante, there 
needn’t nobody say anything ag’in’ it, so long as you 
are content. He isn’t what I’d choose for you, if I 
had the choosin’, for I’d get one with an American 
name and no islands. But that’s neither here nor 
there, for you’re a grown woman and can do your own 
choosin’. And whether there’s any choosin’ to be done 
is your own business, too, for it’s full eleven years 
sence you’ve been done with widder fixin’s $ and if Mr. 

177 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


Leeks was to rise up out of his grave this minute, he 
couldn’t put his hand on his heart and say that you 
hadn’t done your full duty by him, both before and 
after he was laid away. So, if you do want to do 
choosin’, and make up your mind to set your cap at 
Mr. Dusante, there’s no word to be said. Both of you 
is ripe-aged and qualified to know your own minds, and 
both of you is well off enough, to all intents and pur- 
poses, to settle down together, if so inclined. As to 
his sister, I don’t expect she will be on his hands 
for long. And if you can put up with an adopted 
mother-in-law, that’s your business, not mine, though 
I alius did say, Mrs. Leeks, that if you’d been ’Piseo- 
palian, you’d been Low-church.” 

“Is that all?” said Mrs. Leeks. 

“Yes,” replied the other, “it’s all I have to say just 
now, though more might come to me if I gave my 
mind to it.” 

“Well, then,” said Mrs. Leeks, “I’ve somethin’ to 
say on this p’int, and I’m very glad Mr. Craig is here 
to hear it. If I had feelin’s in the direction of Mr. 
Dusante and thought he was a man,— not exactly what 
I might wish, havin’ somethin’ of foreign manners, 
with ties in the Sandwich Islands, which I shouldn’t 
have had so if I’d had the orderin’ of it,— but still 
a Christian gentleman, as showed by his acts, not his 
words, a lovin’ brother, and a kind and attentive son 
by his own adoption, and who would make me a good 
husband for the rest of our two lives, then I’d go and 
I’d set my cap at him— not bold nor flauntin’ nor un- 
becomin’ to a woman of my age, but just so much 
settin’ of it at him that if he had any feelin’s in my 
direction, and thought, although it was rather late in 
178 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


life for him to make a change, that if he was goin’ 
to do it he’d rather make that change with a woman 
who had age enough, and experience enough, in downs 
as well as ups, and in married life as well as single, to 
make him feel that as he got her so he’d always find 
her, then I say all he’d have to do would he to come 
to me and say what he thought, and I’d say what I 
thought, and the thing would he settled, and nobody in 
this world need have one word to say, excep’ to wish 
us joy, and then go along and attend to their own 
business. 

“But now I say to you, Barb’ry Aleshine, and just 
the same to you, Mr. Craig, that I haven’t got no such 
feelin’s in the direction of Mr. Dusante, and I don’t 
intend to set my cap at him $ and if he wore such a 
thing, and set it at me, I’d say to him, kind, though 
firm, that he could put it straight ag’in as far as I 
was concerned, and that if he chose to set it at any 
other woman, if the nearest and dearest friend I have 
on earth, I’d do what I could to make their married 
lives as happy as they could he under the circum- 
stances, and no matter what happened, I wouldn’t say 
one word, though I might think what I pleased. And 
now you have it, all straight and plain : if I wanted 
to set caps, I’d set ’em, and if I didn’t want to set ’em, 
I wouldn’t. I don’t want to, and I don’t.” 

Then, putting on her spectacles, she resumed her 
knitting. 

Mrs. Aleshine turned upon her friend a beaming 
face. 

“Mrs. Leeks,” she said, “your words has lifted a 
load from off my mind. It wouldn’t have broke me 
down, and you wouldn’t never have knowed I carried 
179 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


it, but it’s gone, and I’m mighty glad of it. And as for 
me and my cap,— and when you spoke of nearest and 
dearest friends you couldn’t mean nobody but me, — 
you needn’t be afraid. No matter what I was, nor 
what he was, nor what I thought of him, nor what he 
thought of me, I couldn’t never say to my son, when 
he comes to his mother’s arms all the way from Japan : 
‘ George, here’s a Frenchman who I give to you for a 
father ! ’ ” 

Here I burst out laughing. But Mrs. Leeks gravely 
remarked : “Now I hope this business of cap-settin’ is 
settled and done with.” 

“ Which it is,” said Mrs. Aleshine, as she rose to 
meet the rest of our party as they entered the room. 

For several days I could not look upon the digni- 
fied and almost courtly Mr. Dusante without laughing 
internally, and wondering what he would think if he 
knew how, without the slightest provocation on his 
side, a matrimonial connection with him had been 
discussed by these good women, and how the matter 
had been finally settled. I think he would have con- 
sidered this the most surprising incident in the whole 
series of his adventures. 

On our journey from Chicago to the little country 
town in the interior of Pennsylvania we made a few 
stops at points of interest for the sake of Ruth and the 
Dusante ladies, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine gener- 
ously consenting to these delays, although I knew 
they felt impatient to reach their homes. They were 
now on most social terms with Mrs. Dusante, and the 
three chatted together like old friends. 

“I asked her if we might call her Emily,” said Mrs. 
Aleshine in confidence to me, “and she said yes, and 
180 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


we’re goin’ to do it. I’ve all along wanted to, because 
it seemed to come nat’ral, considerin’ we knowed ’em 
as Emily and Lucille before we set eyes on ’em. But 
as long as I bad that load on my mind about Mrs. 
Leeks and Mr. Dusante I couldn’t L Emily ’ his adopted 
mother. My feelin’s wouldn’t have stood it. But now 
it’s all right. And though Emily isn’t the woman I 
expected her to be, Lucille is the very picter of what 
I thought she was. As for Emily, I never knowed a 
nicer-mannered lady, and more willin’ to learn from 
people that’s had experience, than she is.” 

We arrived at Meadowville early in the afternoon, 
and when our party alighted from the train we were 
surprised not to see Mr. Enderton on the platform of 
the little station. Instead of him, there stood three 
persons whose appearance amazed and delighted us. 
They were the red-bearded coxswain and the two 
sailormen, all in neat new clothes, and with their 
hands raised in maritime salute. 

There was a cry of joy. Mrs. Aleshine dropped her 
bag and umbrella, and rushed toward them with out- 
stretched hands. In a moment Mrs. Leeks, Ruth, and 
myself joined the group, and greeted warmly our 
nautical companions of the island. 

The Dusante party, when they were made ac- 
quainted with the mariners, were almost as much 
delighted as we were, and Mr. Dusante expressed in 
cordial words his pleasure in meeting the other mem- 
bers of the party to whom his island had given refuge. 

“I am so glad to see you,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “that 
I don’t know my bonnet from my shoes ! But how 
in the name of all that’s wonderful did you get here ? ” 

“’Tain’t much of a story,” said the coxswain, “an’ 
181 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


this is just the whole of it. When you left us at 
7 Frisco we felt pretty downsome, an’ the more that 
way because we couldn’t find no vessel that we cared 
to ship on 5 an’ then there come to town the agent of 
the house that owned our brig, an’ we was paid off for 
our last v’yage. Then, when we had fitted ourselves 
out with new togs, we began to think different about 
this shippin’ on board a merchant- vessel, an’ gettin’ 
cussed at, an’ livin’ on hard-tack an’ salt prog, an’ jus’ 
as like as not the ship springin’ a leak an’ all hands 
pumpin’ night an’ day, an’ goin’ to Davy Jones, after 
all. An’ after talkin’ this all over, we was struck hard 
on the weather-bow with a feelin’ that it was a blamed 
sight better— beggin’ your pardon, ma’am— to dig 
garden-beds in nice soft dirt, an’ plant peas, an’ ketch 
fish, an’ all that kind of shore work, an’ eatin’ them 
good things you used to cook for us, Mrs. Aleshine, 
an’ dancin’ hornpipes for ye, an’ tamin’ birds when 
our watch was off. Wasn’t that so, Jim an’ Bill? ” 

“ Ay, ay, sir ! ” said the black-bearded sailormen. 

“Then says I, ‘Now look here, mates, don’t let’s go 
an’ lark away all this money, but take it an’ make a 
land trip to where Mrs. Aleshine lives’— which port 
I had the name of on a piece of paper which you gave 
me, ma’am.” 

Here Mrs. Aleshine nodded vigorously, not being 
willing to interrupt this entrancing story. 

“‘An’ if she’s got another garden, an’ wants it dug 
in, an’ things planted, an’ fish caught, an’ any other 
kind of shore work done, why, we’re the men for her, 
an’ we’ll sign the papers for as long a v’yage as she 
likes, an’ stick by her in fair weather or foul, bein’ 
good for day work an’ night work, an’ alius ready to 
182 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


fall in when she passes the word . 7 Ain 7 t that so, Jim 
an 7 Bill ? 77 

“ Ay, ay, sir ! 77 returned the sailormen, with sonor- 
ous earnestness. 

“Upon my word ! 77 cried Mrs. Aleshine, tears of joy 
running down her cheeks, “them papers shall he 
signed, if I have to work night and day to find some- 
thin 7 for you to do. I’ve got a man takin 7 keer of my 
place now. But many a time have I said to myself 
that if I had anybody I could trust to do the work 
right, I’d buy them two fields of Squire Ramsey’s, and 
go into the onion business. And now you sailormen 
has come like three sea angels, and if it suits you we’ll 
go into the onion business on sheers . 77 

“That suits us tiptop, ma’am,” said the coxswain. 
“An 7 we’ll plant inyans for ye on the sheers, on the 
stocks, or in the dry-dock. It don’t make no difrence 
to us where you have ’em. Jus 7 pass the word.” 

“Well, well,” said Mrs. Leeks, “I don’t know how 
that’s goin 7 to work, but we won’t talk about it now. 
And so you came straight on to this place ? ” 

“That did we, ma’am,” said the coxswain. “An 7 
when we got here we found the parson, but none of 
you folks. That took us aback a little at fust, but he 
said he didn’t live here, an 7 you was cornin’ pretty 
soon. An 7 so we took lodgin’s at the tavern, an 7 for 
three days we’ve been down here to meet every train, 
expectin’ you might be on it.” 

Our baggage had been put on the platform, the 
train had moved on, and we had stood engrossed in 
the coxswain’s narrative ; but now I thought it neces- 
sary to make a move. There was but one small vehi- 
cle to hire at the station. This would hold but two 


183 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


persons, and in it I placed Mrs. Dusante and Ruth, 
the first being not accustomed to walking, and the 
latter very anxious to meet her father. I ordered the 
man to drive them to the inn, where we would stay 
until Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine should get their 
houses properly aired and ready for our reception. 

“Mrs. Craig will be glad to get to the tavern and 
see her father,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “I expect he 
forgot all about its bein’ time for the train to come.” 

“Bless you, ma’am!” exclaimed the coxswain, “is 
she gone to the tavern ? The parson’s not there ! ” 

“Where is he, then?” asked Mrs. Aleshine. 

“He’s at your house, ma’am,” replied the coxswain. 

“And what in the name of common sense is he 
doin’ at my house?” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, her 
eyes sparkling with amazement and indignation. 

“Well, ma’am, for one thing,” said the coxswain, 
“he’s had the front door painted.” 

“What!” cried Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, in 
one breath. 

“Yes,” continued the coxswain, “the parson said he 
hated to see men bangin’ around doin’ nothin’. An’ 
then he looked about, an’ said the paint was all wore 
off the front door, an’ we might as well go to work an’ 
paint that. An’ he sent Jim to a shop to git the paint 
an’ brushes—” 

“And have ’em charged to me?” cried Mrs. Aleshine. 

“Yes, ma’am,” continued the coxswain. “An’ Jim 
an’ Bill holystoned all the old paint off the door, an’ 
I painted it, havin’ done lots of that sort of thing on 
shipboard. An’ I think it’s a pretty good job, ma’am 
— red at top an’ bottom, an’ white in the middle, like 
a steamer’s smoke-stack.” 


184 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine looked at each other. 
“And he told you to do that?’ 7 said Mrs. Leeks. 

“Yes, ma’am,” answered the coxswain. “The par- 
son said he never liked to be nowhere without doin’ 
what good he could. An’ there was some other 
paintin’ he talked of havin’ done, but we ain’t got at 
it yet. I s’posed he was actin’ under your orders, an’ 
I hope I haven’t done no wrong, ma’am.” 

“You’re not a bit to blame,” said Mrs. Aleshine. 
“But I’ll look into this thing. No fear about that ! 
And how did he come to go to my house t And how 
did he get in, I’d like to know? ” 

“All I know about that,” said the coxswain, “is 
what the gal that’s livin’ there told me, which she did 
along of askin’ us if we was cornin’ to live there, too, 
an’ if she should rig up beds for us somewhere in the 
top -loft. But we told her no, not havin’ no orders, 
an’ payin’ our own way at the tavern. She said, said 
she, that the parson come there, an’ ’lowed he was a 
friend of Mrs. Aleshine’s an’ travellin’ with her, an’ 
that if she was at home she wouldn’t let him stay at 
no tavern j an’ that, knowin’ her wishes, he’d come 
right there, an’ ’spected to be took care of till she 
come. She said she felt oncertain about it, but she 
tuck him in till she could think it over, an’ then we 
come an’ certified that he was the parson who’d been 
along with Mrs. Aleshine an’ the rest of us. Arter 
that she thought it was all right, an’, beggin’ your 
pardon if we was wrong, so did Jim an’ Bill an’ me, 
ma’am.” 

“Now,” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, “if that isn’t ex- 
actly like Elizabeth Grootenheimer ! To think of 
Elizabeth Grootenheimer thinkin’ ! The Grooten- 


185 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


heimers always was the dumbest family in the town- 
ship, and Elizabeth Grootenheimer is the dumbest of 
’em all ! I did say to myself, when I went away : 
‘Now, Elizabeth Grootenheimer is so stone dumb that 
she’ll just stay here and do the little I tell her to do, « 
and hasn’t sense enough to get into no mischief.’ 
And now, look at her ! ” 

She waved her hand in the direction of the invisible 
Elizabeth Grootenheimer. 

Mrs. Leeks had said very little during this startling 
communication, but her face had assumed a stern and 
determined expression. Now she spoke : 

“I guess we’ve heard about enough, and we’d better 
be steppin’ along and see what else Mr. Enderton and 
Elizabeth Grootenheimer is doin’.” 

The homes of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine were not 
far from each other, and were situated about midway 
between the station and the village inn, and in the 
direction of these our party now started. Mrs. Ale- 
shine, contrary to her custom, took the lead, and 
walked away with strides of unusual length. Mrs. 
Leeks was close behind her, followed by the two Du- 
santes and myself, while the three mariners, who in- 
sisted upon carrying all the hand-baggage, brought up 
the rear. We stepped quickly, for we were all much 
interested in what might happen next, and very soon 
we reached Mrs. Aleshine’s house. It was a good- 
sized and pleasant-looking dwelling, painted white, 
with green shutters, and with a long covered piazza 
at the front. Between the road and the house was a 
neat yard with grass and flower-beds, and from the 
gate of the picket-fence in front of the yard a brick- 
paved path led up to the house. 

186 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

Our approach had been perceived, for on the piazza, 
in front of the gayly painted door, stood Mr. Enderton, 
erect, and with a bland and benignant smile upon his 
face. One hand was stretched out as if in welcome, 
and with the other he gracefully held the ginger-jar, 
now divested of its wrappings. 

At this sight Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine made a 
simultaneous dash at the gate, but it was locked. The 
two women stamped their feet in fury. 

“Put down that jar ! ” shouted Mrs. Leeks. 

“Elizabeth Grootenheimer ! Elizabeth Grooten- 
heimer !” screamed Mrs. Aleshine. “Come here and 
open this gate.” 

“Break it down !” said Mrs. Leeks, turning to the 
sailors. 

“Don’t you do it ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, throw- 
ing herself in front of it. “Don’t you break my gate ! 
Elizabeth Grootenheimer ! ” 

“My friends,” said Mr. Enderton, in clear, distinct 
tones, “be calm. I have the key of that gate in my 
pocket. I locked it because I feared that on your 
first arrival you would hurry up to the house in a 
promiscuous way, and give heed to irrelevant matters. 
I wished to address you in a body, and in a position 
where your attention would not be diverted from me. 
I hold here, my friends, the receptacle containing the 
money which, under a misapprehension, was paid for 
our board while on a desert island. This money I 
have taken care of, and have carefully guarded for 
the benefit of us all. Unfortunately, objections have 
arisen to this guardianship, which were forwarded to 
me by telegraph. But I have not heeded them. If 
you cannot see for yourselves the propriety of my 
187 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 

assumption of this trust, I will not now undertake t6 
enlighten you. But I hope there is no necessity for 
this, for, having had time to give the matter your 
fullest attention, I doubt not that you entirely agree 
with me. I will merely add, for I see you are im- 
patient, that the sum which will fall to the share of 
each of us is comparatively insignificant and in itself 
not worth striving for. But what I have done has 
been for the sake of principle. For the sake of prin- 
ciple I have insisted that this money should be re- 
ceived by its rightful owners ; for the sake of principle 
I assumed the custody of it ; and for the sake of prin- 
ciple I shall now empty the contents of this jar— 
which by me has not been examined or touched— 
upon the floor of this piazza, and I shall then proceed 
to divide said contents into five suitable portions— the 
three mariners, as I understand, having paid no board. 
The gate can then be opened, and each one can come 
forward and take the portion which belongs to him or 
to her. The portion of my daughter, whom I saw pass 
here in a carriage, going, doubtless, to the inn, will be 
taken charge of by myself.” 

“You man ! ” shrieked Mrs. Leeks, shaking her fist 
over the fence, “if you as much as lift that paper 
of fish-hooks from out the top of that ginger-jar, 
I’ll-” 

Here she was interrupted by the loud, clear voice 
of Mr. Dusante, who called out : “Sir, I require you to 
put down that jar, which is my property.” 

“I’ll let you know,” said Mrs. Leeks, “that other 
people have principles ! ” 

But what more she said was drowned by the voice 
of Mrs. Aleshine, who screamed for Elizabeth Grooten- 
188 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


heimer, and who was now so much excited that she 
was actually trying to break open her own gate. 

I called out to Mr. Enderton not to make trouble 
by disturbing the contents of the jar. Even Miss 
Lucille, who was intensely amused at the scene, could 
be heard joining her voice to the general clamor. 

But the threats and demands of our united party 
had no effect upon Mr. Enderton. He stood up, serene 
and bland, fully appreciating the advantage of having 
the key of the gate’s padlock in his pocket and the 
ginger-jar in his hand. 

“I will now proceed,” said he. But at that moment 
his attention was attracted by the three mariners, who 
had clambered over the pointed pales of the fence, and 
who now appeared on the piazza, Bill to the right 
hand of Mr. Enderton, Jim to the left, and the red- 
bearded coxswain at his back. They all seemed to 
speak at once, though what they said we could not 
hear, nothing but a few hoarse mutterings coming 
down to us. 

But in consequence of what Bill said, Mr. Enderton 
handed him the key of the gate ; and in consequence 
of what Jim said, Mr. Enderton delivered to him the 
ginger-jar $ and in consequence of what the coxswain 
said, he and Mr. Enderton walked off the piazza, and 
the two proceeded to a distant corner of the yard, 
where they stood out of the way, as it were, while the 
gate was opened. Bill bungled a little, but the pad- 
lock was soon removed, and we all hurried through 
the gate and up to the piazza, where Jim still stood, 
the ginger-jar held reverently in his hands. 

The coxswain now left Mr. Enderton, and that gen- 
tleman proceeded to the open gate, through which he 
189 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


passed into the road, and then turned and in a loud 
and severe tone addressed Mrs. Aleshine : 

“I leave your inhospitable house, and go to join my 
daughter at the inn, where I request you to send my 
valise and umbrella as soon as possible.” 

Mrs. Aleshine’s indignation at this invasion of her 
home and this trampling on her right to open her own 
gate had entirely driven away her accustomed geni- 
ality, and in angry tones she cried : 

“ Just you stop at that paint-shop, when you get to 
the village, and pay for the paint you had charged to 
me, and when you’ve done that you can send for your 
things.” 

“Come, now, Barb’ry,” said Mrs. Leeks, “don’t let 
your feelin’s run away with you. You ought to be 
thankful that he’s let you off so easy, and that he’s 
gone.” 

“I’m all that,” said Mrs. Aleshine. “And, on second 
thoughts, every whip-stitch of his bag and baggage 
shall be trundled after him as soon as I kin get it 
away.” 

We all now stood upon the piazza, and Mrs. Ale- 
shine, in calmer tones, but with her face still flushed 
from her recent excitement, turned to us and said : 
“Now, isn’t this a pretty cornin’ home? My front 
gate fastened in my very face, my front door painted 
red and white, the inside of the house, as like as not, 
turned upside down by that man just as much as the 
outside ; and where in the world, I’d like to know, is 
Elizabeth Grootenheimer ? ” 

“Now don’t you be too hard on her,” said Mrs. 
Leeks, “after havin’ been away from her so long. I 
haven’t a doubt she’s feedin’ the pigs, and you know 
190 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


very well she never would leave them as long as she 
felt they needed her. Y on needn’t mind if yonr house 
is upset, for none of ns is cornin’ in, havin’ only in- 
tended to see you to yonr door, which I must say is a 
pretty blazin’ one.” 

“Now, Mrs. Leeks,” said Mr. Dusante, taking, as 
he spoke, the ginger -jar from the hand of Jim, “I 
think this is a suitable opportunity for me to accom- 
plish the object for which my present journey was 
undertaken, and to return to you the contents of this 
jar.” 

“ Which,” said Mrs. Leeks, in a very decided tone, 
“I don’t take now no more’n I did before.” 

Mr. Dusante looked surprised and troubled. After 
all the dangers and adventures through which that 
ginger-jar had gone, I believe that he expected Mrs. 
Leeks would at last relent and consent to accept it 
from him. 

“Now, look here,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “don’t let us 
have any more fuss about the ginger-jar, or anything 
else. Let’s put off talkin’ about that till we’re all 
settled and fixed. It won’t do for you to take the jar 
to the tavern with you, Mr. Dusante, for like as not 
Mr. Enderton will get hold of it ag’in, and I know 
Mrs. Leeks won’t let it into her house $ so, if you like, 
you may just leave it here for the present, and you 
may make up your minds nobody’ll touch it while 
I’m about. And about I intend to be.” 

This arrangement was gladly agreed upon, and the 
jar being delivered to Mrs. Aleshine, we took our leave 
of her. 

Mrs. Leeks found no difficulty in entering her gate, 
where she was duly welcomed by the man and his wife 
191 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


she had left in charge, while the Dusantes and myseif 
walked on to the inn, or “hotel , 77 as its sign imported, 
about which the greater part of the little town clus- 
tered. The three mariners remained behind to await 
further orders from Mrs. Aleshine. 

By the afternoon of the next day the abodes of those 
two most energetic and capable housewives, Mrs. Leeks 
and Mrs. Aleshine, were fully prepared for the recep- 
tion of their visitors, and the Dusante family were 
ensconced beneath the roof of the one, while my wife 
and I were most warmly welcomed at the gayly 
adorned door of the other. 

Mr. Enderton remained at the inn, where he found 
very comfortable quarters, an arrangement satisfactory 
to all parties. 

In Mrs. Aleshine’s dwelling, where, from the very 
first, Lucille took her position as a most constant 
visitor, being equally welcomed by Ruth and the 
mistress of the house, all was satisfaction and high 
good humor. The ceaseless activity and cheerful 
spirits of our hostess seemed to animate us all. At 
Mrs. Lecks 7 s home the case was different. There, I 
could plainly see, there was a certain uneasiness, 
amounting almost to stiffness, between Mrs. Leeks and 
Mr. Dusante. The latter had not accomplished the 
purpose for which he had made this long journey, and 
though, if things had turned out as he wished, he 
would have been very glad to be the guest of Mrs. 
Leeks, still, under the present circumstances, the situa- 
tion did not suit him. Mrs. Leeks, too, possessed an 
unsettled mind. She did not know when Mr. Dusante 
would again endeavor to force back upon her the 
192 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


board money in the ginger-jar, and in this state of 
uneasy expectancy she was not at her best. 

“He’s not satisfied,” said she to me, on the morning 
after the Dusantes had come to her. “He wants to do 
somethin’, or else to go away. I wish that ginger-jar 
had dropped into the bottom of the sea while he was 
bringin’ it, or else had smashed itself into a thousand 
bits while he was slidin’ down the mountain, and the 
money had melted itself into the snow. S’posin’ at the 
end of the week he was to come to me and offer to 
pay me board for himself and his family, sayin’ that 
was no more than I’d done to him ! Of course the two 
cases are not a bit alike, for we went to his house 
strangers, without leave or license, while he comes to 
mine as a friend, bein’ fully invited and pressed. But 
I don’t s’pose I could make him see it in that light, 
and it worries me.” 

I was convinced that something ought to be done to 
end this unpleasant state of affairs, and I took my wife 
and Miss Lucille into council on the subject. After 
we had deliberated a little while an idea came to 
Ruth. 

“In my opinion,” said she, “the best thing we can 
do with that board money is to give it to those three 
sailors. They are poor and will be glad to get it. 
Mr. Dusante and Mrs. Leeks ought to be fully satisfied, 
for the one doesn’t keep it and the other doesn’t take 
it back. And I’m sure that this plan will please all 
the rest of us.” 

This proposition was agreed to by the council, and 
I was appointed to go immediately and lay it before 
the parties interested. 


193 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


Mr. Dusante gave his ready consent to this proposal. 
“It is not what I intended to do,” said he, “but it 
amounts to almost the same thing. The money is in 
fact restored to its owners, and they agree to make 
a certain disposition of it. I am satisfied.” 

Mrs. Leeks hesitated a little. “All right,” said she. 
“He takes the money and gives it to who he chooses. 
Fve nothin’ to say ag’in’ it.” 

Of course no opposition to the plan was to be ex- 
pected from anybody else, except Mr. Enderton. But 
when I mentioned it to him, I found, to my surprise, 
that he was not unwilling to agree to it. Half closing 
the book he had been reading, he said : “What I have 
done was on behalf of principle. I did not believe, 
and do not believe, that upon an entirely deserted 
island money should be paid for board. I paid it 
under protest, and I do not withdraw that protest. 
According to all the laws of justice and hospitality, 
the man who owned that island should not retain that 
money, and Mrs. Leeks had no right to insist upon 
such retention. But if it is proposed to give the sum 
total to three mariners who paid no board, and to 
whom the gift is an absolute charity, I am content. 
To be sure, they interfered with me at a moment 
when I was about to make a suitable settlement of the 
matter, but I have no doubt they were told to do 
so. And I must admit that while they carried out 
their orders with a certain firmness characteristic of 
persons accustomed to unreasoning obedience, they 
treated me with entire respect. If equal respect had 
been shown to me at the beginning of these disputes, 
it would have been much better for all concerned.” 
And opening his book, he recommenced his reading. 

194 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


That afternoon all of us, except Mr. Enderton, assem- 
bled on Mrs. Aleshine’s piazza to witness the presenta- 
tion of the board money. The three sailors, who had 
been informed of the nature of the proceedings, stood 
in line on the second step of the piazza, clad in their 
best toggery, and with their new tarpaulin hats in 
their hands. Mrs. Aleshine went into the house, and 
soon reappeared carrying the ginger -jar, which she 
presented to Mr. Dusante. That gentleman took it, 
and stood holding it for a moment as if he were about 
to speak. But even if he had intended to say any- 
thing, he had no further opportunity, for Mrs. Leeks 
now stepped forward and addressed him. 

“Mr. Dusante,” said she, “from what I ? ve seen of 
you myself and heard tell of you from others, I believe 
you are a man who tries to do his duty, as he sees it, 
with a single heart and no turnin’ from one side to 
the other. You made up your mind that you’d travel 
over the whole world, if it had to be done, with that 
ginger-jar and the board money inside of it, till you’d 
found the people who’d been livin’ in your house, and 
then that you’d give back that jar, just as you’d found 
it, to the person who took upon herself the overseein’ 
of the reg’lar payin’ of the money and the puttin’ of 
it therein. With that purpose in your mind you car- 
ried that jar over the ocean. You wandered with it 
up and down California, and holdin’ it tight fast in 
your arms, you slid down the slipperiest mountain 
that was ever made yet, I believe, and if it had been 
your only infant child, you couldn’t have held it 
firmer, nor regarded it more careful. Through ups 
and downs, and thicks and smooths, you carried that 
jar or followed it, and for the sake of doin’ what you’d 
195 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


set your mind on you came all the way to this place j 
to which, if it hadn’t been for that one idee, it isn’t 
likely you’d ever dreamed of cornin’. Now, Mr. 
Dusante, we’ve all agreed on what we think is the 
right thing to do, and you agreed with us, but I can 
see by your face that you’re disapp’inted. The thing 
you set out to do you haven’t done, and I’m not goin’ 
to have it to say to myself that you was the only one 
of all of us that wasn’t satisfied, and that I was the 
stumblin’ -block that stood in your way. So I’ll back 
down from sayin’ that I’d never touch that jar ag’in, 
and you can put it into my hands, as you set out to do.” 

Mr. Dusante made no answer, but stepped forward, 
and taking one of Mrs. Lecks’s large brown and work- 
worn hands, he respectfully touched it with his lips. It 
is not probable that Mrs. Lecks’s hand had ever before 
been kissed. It is not probable that she had ever seen 
any one kiss the hand of another. But the hard sense 
and keen insight of that independent countrywoman 
made her instantly aware of what was meant by that 
old-fashioned act of courteous homage. Her tall form 
grew more erect, she slightly bowed her head, and re- 
ceived the salute with a quiet dignity which would 
have become a duchess. 

This little scene touched us all, and Mrs. Aleshine 
afterwards informed me that for a moment she hadn’t 
a dry eye in her head. 

Mr. Dusante now handed the ginger -jar to Mrs. 
Leeks, who immediately stepped toward Kuth and 
Lucille. 

“You two young ones,” she said, “can just take this 
jar, and your hands can be the first to lift off that 
paper of fish-hooks and take out the money, which 
196 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


you will then divide among onr good friends, these 
sailormen.” 

Ruth and Lucille immediately sat down on the floor 
of the piazza, and the one emptied the board money 
into the lap of the other, where it was speedily divided 
into three equal portions, one of which was placed in 
the hands of each mariner. 

The men stood motionless, each holding his money 
in his open right hand, and then the red-bearded 
coxswain spoke : 

“It ain’t for me, nor for Bill, nor for Jim nuther, to 
say a word ag’in’ what you all think is right an’ 
square. We’ve stood by ye an’ obeyed orders since 
we first shipped on that island, an’ we intend to do so 
straight along. Don’t we, Jim and Bill?” 

“Ay, ay, sir ! ” said Jim and Bill, in hearty, hoarse 
response. 

“There’s some of ye, specially Mrs. Aleshine, though 
meanin’ no disrespec’ to anybody else, that we’d follow 
to the crosstrees of the topgallantmast of the tallest 
ship that ever floated in the middle of the ragin’ est 
typhoon that ever bio wed. Wouldn’t we, Jim an 
Bill?” 

“Ay, ay, sir ! ” sang out Jim and Bill. 

“But though we stand ready to obey orders,” said 
the coxswain, “we made up our minds, when we heard 
what was goin’ to be done, that we’d listen keerful for 
one thing, an’ we have listened keerful, an’ we haven’t 
heard that one thing, an’ that thing was what we 
should do with this money. An’ not havin’ heard it, 
an’ so bein’ under no orders as to the spendin’ of it, 
we take the money, an’ thank you kindly, one an’ all. 
Don’t we, Jim an’ Bill ? ” 


197 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


“ Ay, ay, sir ! ” said Jim and Bill. 

And into the pocket of each mariner clinked the 
money. 

Mr. Dusante now took up the ginger-jar, and ap- 
proached Mrs. Leeks. “I hope, madam,” he said, 
“that as the subject of our little differences has now 
been removed from this jar, yon will consent to accept 
it from me as a memento of the somewhat remarkable 
experiences through which it has accompanied us.” 

“Take it, sir? ” said she. “To be sure I will. And 
very glad am I to get it. As long as I live it shall 
stand on the mantelpiece in my parlor, and when I 
die it shall be left to my heirs, to be taken care of as 
long as it holds together.” 

Every reason for dissatisfaction having now been 
banished from our little company, we all settled down 
for a season of enjoyment. Even Mr. Enderton, who 
had found on the top shelf of a closet in his room at 
the inn a lot of old books, appeared to be in a state of 
perfect content. To the Dusantes a residence in this 
absolutely rural portion of our Middle States in the 
autumnal season was an entirely novel experience. 
The crisp and invigorating air, the mists and the 
glowing hues of the Indian-summer time, the softness 
of the sunshine, and even those masses of limbs and 
twigs which had already dropped their leaves and 
spread themselves in a delicate network against the 
clear blue sky, were all full of a novel beauty for these 
people who had lived so long in tropical lands and 
among perennial foliage, and had never known the 
delights of an American country life out of season. 
Having enjoyed Mrs. Lecks’s hospitality for a suitable 
period, they proposed to that sensible woman that she 
198 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


should receive them as boarders until the winter should 
set in, and to this practical proposition she gave a 
ready assent, hoping that the really cold weather 
would long defer its coming. 

Buth and I established ourselves on the same terms 
with Mrs. Aleshine. A prolonged holiday from the 
labors of my business had been the object of my at- 
tempted journey to Japan, and I could think of no 
place where it would better please my young wife and 
myself to rest for a time than here among these good 
friends. 

A continual source of amusement to us were the 
acts and doings of Mrs. Aleshine and her three sailor- 
men. These bold mariners had enlisted, soul and 
body, into the service of the thrifty housewife, and as 
it was impossible to do anything in connection with 
the growing of the onions until the desired fields 
should be acquired and the spring should open, many 
and diverse were the labors at which the coxswain and 
those two able-bodied seamen Bill and Jim set them- 
selves, or were set by Mrs. Aleshine. 

The brilliantly painted front door, which at first had 
excited the good woman’s ire, gradually came to com- 
mand her admiration, and when her sailormen had 
done everything else that they could in the barns, the 
fields, or at the woodpile, she gave them the privilege 
to paint various portions of her property, leaving 
designs and colors to their own taste and fancy. 
Whether they milked the cows, cut the wood, or 
painted the sides of the house, they always worked 
like good fellows, and in nautical costume. They 
holystoned the front deck, as they called the floor of 
the piazza, until it seemed sacrilegious to set foot upon 
199 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


it. And when the house and the pale-fence had been 
suitably painted, they allowed their fancies lofty flights 
in the decoration of the smaller outbuildings and vari- 
ous objects in the grounds. One of the men had a 
pocket-chart of the colors adopted by the different 
steamship companies over all the world, and now 
smoke-houses, corn-cribs, chicken-houses, and so on, 
down to pumps and hitching-posts, were painted in 
great bands of blue and red and white and black, 
arranged in alternating orders, until an observer 
might have supposed that a commercial navy*had been 
sunk beneath Mrs. Aleshine’s house-grounds, leaving 
nothing but its smoke-stacks visible. 

The greatest work of decoration, however, was re- 
served by the red-bearded coxswain for himself, de- 
signed by his own brain, and executed by his own 
hands. This was the tattooing of the barn. Around 
this building, the sides of which were already of a 
color sufficiently resembling a well -tanned human skin, 
the coxswain painted, in blue spots resembling tat- 
tooing, an immense cable passing several times about 
the structure, a sea-serpent almost as long as the cable, 
eight anchors, two ships under full sail, with a variety 
of cannons and flags which filled up all the remaining 
spaces. This great work was a long time in execu- 
tion, and before it was half finished its fame had spread 
over the surrounding country. 

The decoration of her premises was greatly enjoyed 
by Mrs. Aleshine. “It gives ’em somethin’ to do,” said 
she, “till the onion season comes on ; it makes ’em 
happy ; and the leaves and flowers bein’ pretty nigh 
gone, I like to see the place blossomin’ out as if it was 
a cold-weather garden.” 


200 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 

In the evenings, in the large kitchen, the sailormen 
danced their hornpipes, and around the great fireplace 
they spun long yarns of haps and mishaps on distant 
seas. Mrs. Aleshine always, and the rest of us often, 
sat by the fire and enjoyed these nautical recreations. 

“Havin’ myself done housekeeping in the torrid 
zone,” she once said, “a lot of the things they tell 
come home to me quite nat’ral. And I’d do anything 
in the world to make ’em content to live on dry land 
like common Christians, instead of cavortin’ about on 
the pitchin’ ocean, runnin’ into each other, and 
springin’ leaks, with no likelihood of findin’ a fur- 
nished island at every p’int where their ship hap- 
pened to go down.” 

On one subject only did any trouble now come into 
the mind of Mrs. Aleshine, and she once had a little 
talk with me in regard to it. 

“I’ve been afeard from the very beginning” she 
said, “and after a while I more’n half believed it, that 
Elizabeth Grootenheimer was settin’ her cap at the 
coxswain, so I just went to him and I spoke to him 
plain. ‘This sort of thing won’t do at all,’ says I. 
‘ And although I haven’t a doubt you see it for your- 
self, I thought it my dooty to speak my mind about 
it. There’s plenty of young women in this township 
that would make you sailormen fust-rate wives, and 
glad enough I’d be to see you all married and settled 
and gone to farmin’ right here amongst us. But Eliza- 
beth Grootenheimer won’t do. Settin’ aside every- 
thing else, if there was to be any children, they might 
be little coxswains, but they’d be Grootenheimers, too, 
stone-dumb Grootenheimers, and I tell you plain that 
this county can’t stand no more Grootenheimers ! ’ 
201 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


To which he says, says he, *1 want you to understand 
ma’am, that if ever me or Jim or Bill makes up our 
mind to set sail for any sort of a weddin’ port, we 
won’t weigh anchor till we’ve got our clearance papers 
from you.’ By which he meant that he’d ask my 
advice about courtin’. Now my mind’s easy, and I 
kin look ahead with comfort to onion-time.” 

I found it necessary to go to Philadelphia for a day 
or two to attend to some business matters, and, the 
evening before I started, the coxswain came to me 
and asked a favor for himself and his mates. 

“It mayn’t have passed out of your mind, sir,” said 
he, “that when me an’ Jim an’ Bill took that money 
that you all give us, which wasn’t ’zackly like prize- 
money, because the rest of the crew, to put it that way, 
didn’t get none, we listened keerful to see if anything 
was said as to what we was to do with the money, an’ 
nothin’ bein’ said, we took it, an’ we wasn’t long 
makin’ up our minds as to what we was goin’ to do 
with it. What we wanted to do was to put up some 
sort of signal what couldn’t get bio wed away, or, more 
like, a kind of reg’lar moniment as would make them 
that looked at it remember the rough squalls an’ the 
jolly larks we’ve gone through with together. An’ it 
was when we was talkin’ about Mrs. Leeks bein’ give 
the ginger -jar to put on her mantelpiece an’ keep for- 
ever that me an’ Jim an’ Bill we said, says we, that 
Mrs. Aleshine should have a ginger-jar, too, havin’ as 
much right to one as her mate, an’ that that would be 
the signal-flag or the moniment that we’d put up. 
Now, sir, as you’re goin’ to town, we ask you to take 
this money, which is the whole lot that was give us, 
an’ have a ginger-jar built, jus’ the size an’ shape an’ 
202 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


general trim of that other one, but of no pottery-stuff, 
for you kin buy ’em jus’ like that, an’ that ain’t what 
we want. We want her built of good oak, stout an’ 
strong, with live-oak knees inside to keep her stiff an’ 
save her from bein’ stove in, in ease of a collision. 
We want her bottom coppered up above the water-line 
with real silver, an’ we want a turtle-back deck with 
a round hatchway, with a tight-fittin’ hatch, jus’ like 
common jars. We want her sides calked with oakum, 
an’ well scraped an’ painted, so that with water inside 
of her or outside of her she won’t leak. An’ on the 
bottom of her, so they kin be seen if she keels over, 
we wants the names of me an’ Jim an’ Bill, which 
we’ve wrote on this piece of paper. An’ on her sides, 
below the water-line, on the silver copperin’, we want 
the names of all the rest of you, an’ the latitood an’ 
longitood of that island, an’ anything out of the logs 
that might have been kep’ by any of you, as might help 
to be remembered the thing what happened. An’ then, 
if there’s any room lef’ on the copperin’, an’ any money 
lef 7 to pay for ’em, you might have cut on as many 
anchors, an’ hearts, an’ bits of cable, an’ such like 
suitable things as would fill up. An’ that jar we’re 
goin’ to give to Mrs. Aleshine to put on her mantel- 
piece, to stay there as long as she lives, or anybody 
that belongs to her. An’ by George, sir ! ” he added 
behind his hand, although there was nobody to hear, 
“if ever them two jars run into each other, it won’t be 
Mrs. Aleshine’s that’ll go down ! ” 

I undertook this commission, and in due course of 
time there came to the village the most astonishing 
ginger -jar that was ever built, but which satisfied the 
three mariners in every particular. When it was 
203 


THE CASTING AWAY OF 


presented to Mrs. Aleshine, her admiration of this 
work of art, her delight in its ownership, and her 
gratitude to the donors were alike boundless. 

“ However could I have had the idee,” said she 
privately to me, “that any one of them noble sailor- 
men could have brought himself down to marry Eliza- 
beth Grootenheimer ! ” 

It was not long after this happy event that another 
great joy came to Mrs. Aleshine. Her son returned 
from Japan. He had heard of the loss of the steamer 
in which his mother and Mrs. Leeks had set sail, and 
was in great trouble of mind until he received a letter 
from his mother which brought him speedily home. 
He had no intention of settling in Meadowville, but 
it had been a long time since he had seen his 
mother. 

He was a fine young man, handsome and well edu- 
cated, and we were all delighted with him ; and in a 
very short time he and Lucille Dusante, being the 
only young bachelor and maiden of the company, be- 
came so intimate and super-friendly that it was easy 
to see that to Mrs. Aleshine might come the unex- 
pected rapture of eventually being the mother of 
Lucille. 

We stayed much later at Meadowville than we had 
expected. Even after the little hills and vales had 
been well covered with snow, sleighing and coasting 
parties, led by the lively new-comer, offered attrac- 
tions, especially to Lucille, which bound us to the 
cheery homes of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. But 
after a time the Dusantes considered it prudent to go 
to Florida for the rest of the winter. Mr. Enderton 
had long since read all the books on his closet shelf 
204 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


and departed for New York, and Ruth and I decided 
that we, too, must move eastward. 

But before our little company separated Mrs. Ale- 
shine’s son and Lucille Dusante had settled it between 
them that when the springtime came they would set 
sail for a wedding port. This match was a highly 
satisfactory one to all concerned, for Mr. Dusante could 
scarcely have found a young brother-in-law who would 
make his sister so happy, and who was, at the same 
time, so well fitted by disposition and previous occu- 
pation to assist in his increasing business cares. 

In the spring the Dusante family came North again, 
and Lucille and her lover were married ; and then all 
of us, except Mr. Enderton, who had obtained a most 
congenial position as assistant librarian in a public 
institution seldom visited, gathered at Meadowville to 
spend a week or two together, after which Ruth and 
I would repair to the New England town which was 
to be our home, and the Dusante family, the young 
husband included, would set out on a tour, partly of 
business and partly of pleasure, through Canada and 
the far Northwest. 

It was arranged that, whenever it should be possible, 
Lucille and Mrs. Dusante should spend their summers 
at Meadowville ; and as this would also give her much 
of the society of her son, the heart of Mrs. Aleshine 
could ask no more. 

This visit to Meadowville was in the onion season, 
and one morning Ruth and I sat upon a fence and 
watched the three sailormen busily at work. The 
soil looked so fine and smooth that one might almost 
have supposed that it had been holystoned 5 and the 
three nautical farmers, in their tight-waisted, loose- 
205 


MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 


bottomed trousers, their tarpaulin hats, and their 
wide-collared shirts, were seated on the ground at 
different points, engrossed in the absorbing task of 
setting out young onions as onions had never been set 
out before. All the careful attention to patient mi- 
nutiae which nautical handiwork had taught them was 
now displayed in their new vocation. In a portion of 
the field which had been first planted the onions had 
sprouted, and we could see evidences of astonishing 
designs. Here were anchors in onions, hearts in onions, 
brigs, barks, and schooners in onions, and more things 
pertaining to ships, the heart’s affections, and the rag- 
ing main outlined in onions than Ruth and I could 
give names to. 

“It seems to me,” said I, “that there must have been 
some sort of enchantment in that little island in the 
Pacific, for in one way or another it has made us all 
very happy.” 

“That is true,” answered Ruth, “and, do you know, 
I believe the cause of a great part of that happiness 
was the board money in the ginger-jar ! ” 


206 


THE VIZIER OF THE TWO-HORNED 
ALEXANDER 








t 



* i 


- 




































\ 







THE VIZIER OF THE TWO-HORNED 
ALEXANDER 


I 

I WAS on a French steamer bound from Havre to 
New York, when I had a peculiar experience in 
the way of a shipwreck. On a dark and foggy night, 
v hen we were about three days out, our vessel collided 
with a derelict- a great, heavy, helpless mass, as dull 
and colorless as the darkness in which she was en- 
veloped. We struck her almost head on, and her 
stump of a bowsprit was driven into our port bow with 
such tremendous violence that a great hole— nobody 
knew of what dimensions— was made in our vessel. 

The collision occurred about two hours before day- 
1 ight, and the frightened passengers who crowded the 
upper deck were soon informed by the officers that it 
would be necessary to take to the boats, for the vessel 
was rapidly settling by the head. 

Now, of course, all was hurry and confusion. The 
captain endeavored to assure his passengers that there 
ere boats enough to carry every soul on board, and 
that there was time enough for them to embark quietly 
and in order. But as the French people did not un- 
derstand him when he spoke in English, and as the 
Americans did not readily comprehend what he said 
209 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


in French, his exhortations were of little avail. With 
such of their possessions as they could carry, the peopl e 
crowded into the boats as soon as they were r am 
sometimes before they were ready ; and wh * then 
was not exactly a panic on board, each ma - seemed 
to be inspired with the idea that his safety, 
of his family, if he had one, depended upon pr < 

individual action. 

I was a young man, travelling alone, and 
was as anxious as any one to be saved from the 
vessel, I was not a coward, and I could not thru 
self into a boat when there were women and children 
behind me who had not yet been provided with places. 
There were men who did this, and several times I felt 
inclined to knock some of the poltroons overboard. 
The deck was well lighted, the steamer was settling 
slowly, and there was no excuse for the dastardly 
proceedings which were going on about me. 

It was not long, however, before almost all of the 
passengers were safely embarked, and I was preparing 
to get into a boat which was nearly filled with the 
officers and crew, when I was touched on the shoulder, 
and turning, I saw a gentleman whose acquaintance I 
had made soon after the steamer had left Havre. His 
name was Crowder. He was a middle-aged man, a 
Hew- Yorker, intelligent and of a social disposition, 
and I had found him a very pleasant companion. To 
my amazement, I perceived that he was smoking a 
cigar. 

“If I were you ,’ 7 said he, “I would not go in that 
boat. It is horribly crowded, and the captain and 
second officer have yet to find places in it . 77 

“That’s all the more reason,” said I, “why we 
210 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


should hurry. I am not going to push myself ahead 
of women and children, but I’ve just as much right to 
be saved as the captain has, and if there are any va- 
cant places, let us get them as soon as possible.” 

Crowder now put his hand on my shoulder as if 
to restrain me. “Safety!” said he. “You needn’t 
trouble yourself about safety. You are just as safe 
where you are as you could possibly be in one of 
those boats. If they are not picked up soon,— and 
they may float about for days,— their sufferings and 
discomforts will be very great. There is a shameful 
want of accommodation in the way of boats.” 

“But, my dear sir,” said I, “I can’t stop here to talk 
about that. They are calling for the captain now.” 

“Oh, he’s in no hurry,” said my companion. “He’s 
collecting his papers, I suppose, and he knows his 
vessel will not sink under him while he is doing it. 
I’m not going in that boat. I haven’t the least idea 
of such a thing. It will be odiously crowded, and I 
assure you, sir, that if the sea should be rough that 
boat will be dangerous. Even now she is overloaded.” 

I looked at the man in amazement. He had spoken 
earnestly, but he was as calm as if we were standing 
on a sidewalk, and he was endeavoring to dissuade me 
from boarding an overcrowded street-car. Before I 
could say anything he spoke again : 

“I am going to remain on this ship. She is a hun- 
dred times safer than any of those boats. I have 
had a great deal of experience in regard to vessels and 
ocean navigation, and it will be a long time before 
this vessel sinks, if she ever sinks of her own accord. 
She’s just as likely to float as that derelict we ran into. 
The steam is nearly out of her boilers by this time, 
211 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


and nothing is likely to happen to her. I wish you 
would stay with me. Here we will be safe, with 
plenty of room, and plenty to eat and drink. When 
it is daylight we will hoist a flag of distress, which 
will be much more likely to be seen than anything 
that can flutter from those little boats. If you have 
noticed, sir, the inclination of this deck is not greater 
now than it was half an hour ago. That proves that 
our bow has settled down about as far as it is going. 
I think it likely that the water has entered only a few 
of the forward compartments.” 

The man spoke so confidently that his words made 
an impression upon me. I knew that it very often 
happens that a wreck floats for a long time, and the 
boat from which the men were now frantically shout- 
ing for the captain would certainly be dangerously 
crowded. 

“Stay with me,” said Mr. Crowder, “and I assure 
you, with as much reason as any man can assure any 
other man of anything in this world, that you will 
be perfectly safe. This steamer is not going to 
sink.” 

There were rapid footsteps, and I saw the captain 
and his second officer approaching. 

“Step back here,” said Mr. Crowder, pulling me by 
the coat. “Don’t let them see us. They may drag us 
on board that confounded boat. Keep quiet, sir, and 
let them get off. They think they are the last on 
board.” 

Involuntarily I obeyed him, and we stood in the 
shadow of the great funnel. The captain had reached 
the rail. 

“Is every one in the boats? ” he shouted, in French 
212 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


and in English. “Is every one in the boats? I am 
going to leave the vessel.” 

I made a start as if to rush toward him, but Crowder 
held me by the arm. 

“ Don’t you do it,” he whispered very earnestly. 
“I have the greatest possible desire to save you. 
Stay where you are, and you will be all right. That 
overloaded boat may capsize in half an hour.” 

I could not help it ; I believed him. My own judg- 
ment seemed suddenly to rise up and ask me why I 
should leave the solid deck of the steamer for that 
perilous little boat. 

I need say but little more in regard to this ship- 
wreck. When the fog lifted, about ten o’clock in the 
morning, we could see no signs of any of the boats. 
A mile or so away lay the dull black line of the dere- 
lict, as if she were some savage beast who had bitten 
and torn us, and was now sullenly waiting to see us 
die of the wound. We hoisted a flag, union down, 
and then we went below to get some breakfast. Mr. 
Crowder knew all about the ship, and where to find 
everything. He told me he had made so many voy- 
ages that he felt almost as much at home on sea as on 
land. We made ourselves comfortable all day, and at 
night we went to our rooms, and I slept fairly well, 
although there was a very disagreeable slant to my 
berth. The next day, early in the afternoon, our 
signal of distress was seen by a tramp steamer on her 
way to New York, and we were taken off. 

We cruised about for many hours in the direction 
the boats had probably taken, and the next day we 
picked up two of them in a sorry condition, the occu- 
pants having suffered many hardships and privations. 

213 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


We never had news of the captain’s boat, but the 
others were rescued by a sailing-vessel going eastward. 

Before we reached New York, Mr. Crowder had 
made me promise that I would spend a few days with 
him at his home in that city. His family was small, 
he told me,— a wife, and a daughter about six,— and 
he wanted me to know them. Naturally we had 
become great friends. Very likely the man had saved 
my life, and he had done it without any act of heroism 
or daring, but simply by impressing me with the fact 
that his judgment was better than mine. I am apt to 
object to people of superior judgment, but Mr. Crow- 
der was an exception to the ordinary superior person. 
From the way he talked it was plain that he had had 
much experience of various sorts, and that he had 
greatly advantaged thereby. But he gave himself 
no airs on this account, and there was nothing patron- 
izing about him. If I were able to tell him anything 
he did not know,— and I frequently was,— he was very 
glad to hear it. 

Moreover, Mr. Crowder was a very good man to 
look at. He was certainly over fifty, and his closely 
trimmed hair was white, but he had a fresh and florid 
complexion. He was tall and well made, fashionably 
dressed, and had an erect and somewhat military 
carriage. He was fond of talking, and seemed fond 
of me, and these points in his disposition attracted 
me very much. 

My relatives were few, they lived in the West, and 
I never had had a friend whose company was so agree- 
able to me as that of Mr. Crowder. 

Mr. Crowder’s residence was a handsome house in the 
upper part of the city. His wife was a slender lady, 
214 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


scarcely half his age, with a sweet and interesting face, 
and was attired plainly but tastefully. In general 
appearance she seemed to be the opposite of her hus- 
band in every way. She had suffered a week of anxi- 
ety, and was so rejoiced at having her husband again 
that when I met her, some hours after Crowder had 
reached the house, her glorified face seemed like that 
of an angel. But there was nothing demonstrative 
about her. Even in her great joy she was as quiet as 
a dove, and I was not surprised when her husband 
afterwards told me that she was a Quaker. 

I was entertained very handsomely by the Crowders, 
and spent several days with them, and although they 
were so happy to see each other, they made it very 
plain that they were also happy to have me with 
them, he because he liked me, she because he liked me. 

On the day before my intended departure, Mr. 
Crowder and I were smoking, after dinner, in his study. 
He had been speaking of people and things that he 
had seen in various parts of the world, but after a time 
he became a little abstracted, and allowed me to do 
most of the talking. 

“You must excuse me,” he said suddenly, when I 
had repeated a question. “You must not think me 
willingly inattentive, but I was considering something 
important — very important. Ever since you have 
been here,— almost ever since I have known you, I 
might say,— the desire has been growing upon me to 
tell you something known to no living being but 
myself.” 

This offer did not altogether please me. I had 
grown very fond of Crowder, but the confidences of 
friends are often very embarrassing. At this moment 
215 


THE VIZIER OF THE 

the study door was gently opened, and Mrs. Crowder 
came in. 

“No,” said she, addressing her husband with a smile, 
“thee need not let thy conscience trouble thee. I have 
not come to say anything about gentlemen being too 
long over their smoking. I only want to say that Mrs. 
Norris and two other ladies have just called, and I am 
going down to see them. They are a committee, and 
will not care for the society of gentlemen. I am sorry 
to lose any of your company, Mr. Randolph, especially 
as you insist that this is to be your last evening with 
us, but I do not think you would care anything about 
our ward organizations.’ 7 

“Now, isn’t that a wife to have!” exclaimed my 
host, as we resumed our cigars. “She thinks of every- 
body’s happiness, and even wishes us to feel free to 
take another cigar if we desire it, although in her 
heart she disapproves of smoking.” 

We settled ourselves again to talk, and as there 
really could be no objection to my listening to Crow- 
der’s confidences, I made none. 

“What I have to tell you,” he said presently, “con- 
cerns my life, present, past, and future. Pretty com- 
prehensive, isn’t it? I have long been looking for 
some one to whom I should be so drawn by bonds of 
sympathy that I should wish to tell him my story. 
Now, I feel that I am so drawn to you. The reason 
for this, in some degree at least, is because you believe 
in me. You are not weak, and it is my opinion that 
on important occasions you are very apt to judge for 
yourself, and not to care very much for the opinions 
of other people ; and yet, on a most important occa- 
sion, you allowed me to judge for you. You are not 
216 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


only able to rely on yourself, but you know when it is 
right to rely on others. I believe you to be possessed 
of a fine and healthy sense of appreciation.” 

I laughed, and begged him not to bestow too many 
compliments upon me, for I was not used to them. 

“I am not thinking of complimenting you,” he said. 
“I am simply telling you what I think of you in order 
that you may understand why I tell you my story. I 
must first assure you, however, that I do not wish to 
place any embarrassing responsibility upon you by 
taking you into my confidence. All that I say to you, 
you may say to others when the time comes ; but first 
I must tell the tale to you.” 

He sat up straight in his chair, and put down his 
cigar. “I will begin,” he said, “by stating that I am 
the Vizier of the Two-horned Alexander.” 

I sat up even straighter than my companion, and 
gazed steadfastly at him. 

“No,” said he, “I am not crazy. I expected you to 
think that, and am entirely prepared for your look of 
amazement and incipient horror. I will ask you, 
however, to set aside for a time the dictates of your 
own sense, and hear what I have to say. Then you 
can take the whole matter into consideration, and 
draw your own conclusions.” He now leaned back in 
his chair, and went on with his story : “It would be 
more correct, perhaps, for me to say that I was the 
Vizier of the Two -horned Alexander, for that great 
personage died long ago. Now, I don’t believe you 
ever heard anything about the Two-horned Alex- 
ander.” 

I had recovered sufficiently from my surprise to 
assure him that he was right. 

217 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


My host nodded. “I thought so/ 7 said he. “Very 
few people do know anything about that powerful 
potentate. He lived in the time of Abraham. He 
was a man of considerable culture, even of travel, and 
of an adventurous disposition. I entered into the ser- 
vice of his court when I was a very young man, and 
gradually I rose in position until I became his chief 
officer, or vizier.” 

I sprang from my chair. “Time of Abraham ! ” I 
exclaimed. “This is simply—” 

“No, it is not,” he interrupted, and speaking in per- 
fect good humor. “I beg you will sit down and listen 
to me. What I have to say to you is not nearly so 
wonderful as the nature and power of electricity.” 

I obeyed. He had touched me on a tender spot, 
for I am an electrician, and can appreciate the won- 
derful. 

“There has been a great deal of discussion,” he 
continued, “in regard to the peculiar title given to 
Alexander, but the appellation i two-horned ? has fre- 
quently been used in ancient times. You know 
Michelangelo gave two horns to Moses. But he mis- 
understood the tradition he had heard, and furnished 
the prophet with real horns. Alexander wore his 
hair arranged over his forehead in the shape of two 
protruding horns. This was simply a symbol of high 
authority. As the bull is monarch of the herd, so was 
he monarch among men. He was the first to use this 
symbol, although it was imitated afterwards by vari- 
ous Eastern potentates. 

“As I have said, Alexander was a man of enterprise, 
and it had come to his knowledge that there existed 
somewhere a certain spring, the waters of which would 
218 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


confer immortality upon any descendant of Shem who 
should drink of them, and he started out to find this 
spring. I travelled with him for more than a year. 
It was on this journey that he visited Abraham when 
the latter was building the great edifice which the 
Mohammedans claim as their holy temple, the Kaaba. 

“It was more than a month after we had parted from 
Abraham that I, being In advance of the rest of the 
company, noticed a little pool in the shade of a rock, 
and being very warm and thirsty, I got down on my 
hands and knees, and putting my face to the water, 
drank of it. I drank heartily, and when I raised my 
head, I saw, to my amazement, that there was not a 
drop of water left in the spring. How it so happened 
that when Alexander came to this spot, he stopped, 
and having regarded the little hollow under the rock, 
together with its surroundings, he dismounted and 
stood by it. He called me, and said : ‘ According to 
all the descriptions I have read, this might have been 
the spring of immortality for which I have been search- 
ing. But it cannot be such now, for there is no water 
in it.’ Then he stooped down and looked carefully at 
the hollow. 1 There has been water here,’ said he, 
‘and that not long ago, for the ground is wet.’ 

“A horrible suspicion now seized upon me. Could 
I have drained the contents of the spring of inesti- 
mable value f Could I, without knowing it, have de- 
prived my king of the great prize for which he had 
searched so long, with such labor and pains? Of 
course I was certain of nothing, but I bowed before 
Alexander, and told him that I had found an insig- 
nificant little puddle at the place, that I had tasted it 
and found it was nothing but common water, and in 
219 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


quantity so small that it scarcely sufficed to quench 
my thirst. If he would consent to camp in the shade, 
and wait a few hours, water would trickle again into 
the little basin, and fill it, and he could see for himself 
that this could not be the spring of which he was in 
search. 

a We waited at that place for the rest of the day and 
the whole of the night, and the next morning the little 
basin was empty and entirely dry. Alexander did 
not reproach me. He was accustomed to rule all men, 
even himself, and he forbade himself to think that I 
had interfered with the great object of his search. 
But he sent me home to his capital city, and con- 
tinued his journey without me. ‘Such a thirsty man 
must not travel with me/ he said. ‘If we should 
really come to the immortal spring, he would be sure 
to drink it all.’ 

“Nine years afterwards Alexander returned to his 
palace, and when I presented myself before him he 
regarded me steadfastly. I knew why he was looking 
at me, and I trembled. At length he spoke : ‘ Thou 
art not one day older than when I dismissed thee from 
my company. It was indeed the fountain of immor- 
tality which thou didst discover, and of which thou 
didst drink every drop. I have searched over the 
whole habitable world, and there is no other. Thou, 
too, art an aristocrat ; thou, too, art of the family of 
Shem. It was for this reason that I placed thee near 
me, that I gave thee great power. And now thou hast 
destroyed all my hopes, my aspirations. Thou hast 
put an end to my ambitions. I had believed that I 
should rule the world, and rule it forever.’ His face 
220 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

grew black ; his voice was terrible. ‘ Retire ! ’ he said. 
‘ I will attend to thy future.’ 

“I retired, but my furious sovereign never saw me 
again. I was fifty-three years old when I drank the 
water in the little pool under the rock, and I was well 
aware that at the time of my sovereign’s return I felt 
no older and looked no older. But still I hoped that 
this was merely the result of my general good health, 
and that when Alexander came back he would inform 
me that he had discovered the veritable spring of im- 
mortality ; so I retained my high office, and waited. 
But I had made my plans for escape in case my hope 
should not be realized. In two minutes from the time 
I left his presence I had begun my flight, and there 
were no horses in all his dominions which could equal 
the speed of mine. 

“Xow began a long, long period of danger and terror, 
of concealment and deprivation. I fled into other 
lands, and these were conquered in order that I might 
be found. But at last Alexander died, and his son 
died, and the sons of his son died, and the whole story 
was forgotten or disbelieved, and I was no longer in 
danger of living forever as an example of the inge- 
nious cruelty of an exasperated monarch. 

“I do not intend to recount my life and adventures 
since that time. In fact, I shall scarcely touch upon 
them. You can see for yourself that that would be 
impossible. One might as well attempt to read a 
history of the world in a single evening. I merely 
want to say enough to make you understand the 
situation. 

“A hundred years after I had fled from Alexander 
221 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


I was still fifty-three years old, and knew that that 
would be my age forever. I stayed so long in the 
place where I first established myself that people 
began to look upon me with suspicion. Seeing me 
grow no older, they thought I was a wizard, and I 
was obliged to seek a new habitation. Ever since, 
my fate has been the necessity of moving from place 
to place. I would go somewhere as a man beginning 
to show signs of age, and I would remain as long as a 
man could reasonably be supposed to live without 
becoming truly old and decrepit. Sometimes I re- 
mained in a place far longer than my prudence should 
have permitted, and many were the perils I escaped 
on account of this rashness. But I have gradually 
learned wisdom.” 

The man spoke so quietly and calmly, and made 
his statements in such a matter-of-fact way, that I 
listened to him with the same fascinated attention I 
had given to the theory of telegraphy without wires, 
when it was first propounded to me. In fact, I had 
been so influenced by his own conviction of the truth 
of what he said that I had been on the point of asking 
him if Abraham had really had anything to do with 
the building of the Islam temple, but had been checked 
by the thought of the utter absurdity of supposing 
that this man sitting in front of me could possibly 
know anything about it. But now I spoke. I did 
not want him to suppose that I believed anything he 
said, nor did I really intend to humor him in his 
insane retrospections. But what he had said suggested 
to me the very apropos remark that one might sup- 
pose he had been giving a new version of the story of 
the Wandering Jew. 


222 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


At this he sat up very straight, on the extreme edge 
of his chair. His eyes sparkled. 

“You must excuse me,” he said, “but for twenty 
seconds I am going to be angry. I can’t help it. It 
isn’t your fault, but that remark always enrages me. 
I expect it, of course, but it makes my blood boil, all 
the same.” 

“Then you have told your story before?” I said. 

“Yes,” he answered. “I have told it to certain 
persons to whom I thought it should be known. Some 
of these have believed it, some have not ; but, believers 
or disbelievers, all have died and disappeared. Their 
opinions are nothing to me. You are now the only 
living being who knows my story.” 

I was going to ask a question here, but he did not 
give me a chance. He was very much moved. 

“I hate that Wandering Jew,” said he, “or, I should 
say, I despise the thin film of a tradition from which 
he was constructed. There never was a Wandering 
Jew. There could not have been ; it is impossible to 
conceive of a human being sent forth to wander in 
wretchedness forever. Moreover, suppose there had 
been such a man, what a poor, modern creature he 
would be compared with me ! Even now he would be 
less than two thousand years old. You must excuse 
my perturbation, but I am sure that during the whole 
of the Christian era I have never told my story to any 
one who did not, in some way or other, make an absurd 
or irritating reference to the Wandering Jew. I have 
often thought, and I have no doubt I am right, that 
the ancient story of my adventures as Kroudhr, the 
Vizier of the Two -horned Alexander, combined with 
what I have related, in one century or another, of my 
223 


THE VIZIER OF THE 

subsequent experiences, has given rise to the tradition 
of that very unpleasant Jew of whom Eugene Sue and 
many others have made good use. It is very natural 
that there should be legends about people who in some 
way or other are enabled to live forever. If Ponce 
de Leon and his companions had mysteriously disap- 
peared when in search of the Fountain of Youth, there 
would be stories now about rejuvenated Spaniards 
wandering about the earth, and who would always 
continue to wander. But the Fountain of Youth is 
not a desirable water-supply, and a young person who 
should find such a pool would do well to wait until he 
had arrived at maturity before entering upon an 
existence of indefinite continuance. 

“But I must go on with my story. At one time I 
made for myself a home, and remained in it for many, 
many years without making any change. I became 
a sort of hermit, and lived in a rocky cave. I allowed 
my hair and beard to grow, so that people really 
thought I was getting older and older. At last I 
acquired the reputation of a prophet, and was held in 
veneration by a great many religious people. Of 
course I could not prophesy, but as I had such a vast 
deal of experience I was able to predicate intelligently 
something about the future from my knowledge of the 
past. I became famed as a wonderful seer, and there 
were a great many curious stories told about me. 

“Among my visitors at that time was Moses. He 
had heard of me, and came to see what manner of 
man I was. We became very well acquainted. He 
was a man anxious to obtain information, and he asked 
me questions which embarrassed me very much. But 
I do not know that he suspected I had lived beyond 
224 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


the ordinary span of life. There are a good many 
traditions about this visit of Moses, some of which are 
extant at the present day $ bnt these, of course, are 
the result of what might be called cumulative imagi- 
nation. Many of them are of Moslem origin, and the 
great Arabian historian Tabari has related some of 
them. 

“I learned a great deal while I lived in this cave, 
both from scholars and from nature. But at last new 
generations arose who did not honor or even respect 
me, and by some I was looked upon as a fraudulent 
successor to the old prophet of whom their ancestors 
had told them, and so I thought it prudent to 
leave.” 

My interest in this man’s extraordinary tissue of 
retrospection was increasing, and I felt that I must 
not doubt or deny ; to do so would be to break the 
spell, to close the book. 

“Does it not sometimes fill you with horror to think 
that you must live forever? ” I asked. 

“Yes,” he answered, “that has happened to me j 
but such feelings have long, long passed away. If 
you could have lived as I have, and had seen the world 
change from what it was when I was young to what it 
is now, you would understand how a man of my dis- 
position, a man of my overpowering love of knowledge, 
love of discovery, love of improvement, love of prog- 
ress of all kinds, would love to live. In fact, if I were 
now to be told that at the end of five thousand years 
I must expire and cease, it would fill me with gloom. 
Having seen so much, I expect more than most men 
are capable of comprehending. And I shall see it all 
—see the centuries unfold, behold the wonderful things 
225 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


of the future arise ! The very thought of it fills me 
with inexpressible joy.” 

For a few moments he remained silent. I could 
understand the state of his mind, no matter how those 
mental conditions had been brought about. 

“But you must not suppose/’ he continued, “that 
this earthly immortality is without its pains, its fears, 
I may say its horrors. It is precisely on account of 
all these that I am now talking to you. The knowl- 
edge that my life is always safe, no matter in what 
peril I may be, does not relieve me from anxiety and 
apprehension of evil. It would be a curse to live if I 
were not in sound physical condition. It would be a 
curse to live as a slave. It would be a curse to live in 
a dungeon. I have known vicissitudes and hardships 
of every kind, but I have been fortunate enough to 
preserve myself whole and unscathed, in spite of the 
dangers I have incurred. 

“I often think from what a terrible fate I saved my 
master, Alexander of the two horns. If he had found 
the fountain he might have enjoyed his power and 
dominion for a few generations. Then he would have 
been thrown down, cast out, and even if he had es- 
caped miseries which I cannot bear to mention, he 
never could have regained his high throne. He would 
have been condemned to live forever in a station for 
which he was not fitted. 

“It is very different with me. My nature allows 
me to adapt myself to various conditions, and my 
habits of prudence prevent me from seeking to occupy 
any position which may be dangerous to me by making 
me conspicuous, and from which I could not easily 
retire when I believe the time has come to do so. I 


226 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


have been almost everything. I have even been a 
soldier. But I have never taken up arms except when 
obliged to do so, and I have known as little of war as 
possible. No weapon or missile could kill me, but I 
have a great regard for my arms and legs. I have 
been a ruler of men, but I have trembled in my high 
estate, for I feared the populace. They could do 
everything except take my life. Therefore I made it 
a point to abdicate when the skies were clear. In 
such cases I set out on journeys from which I never 
returned. 

“I have also lived the life of the lowly. I have 
drawn water, and I have hewn wood. By the way, 
that reminds me of a little incident which may inter- 
est you. I was employed in the East India House at 
the time Charles Lamb was a clerk there. It was not 
long after he had begun to contribute his Elia essays 
to the ‘ London Magazine.’ I had read some of them, 
and was interested in the man. I met him several 
times in the corridors or on the stairways, and one 
day I was going up -stairs, carrying a hod of coals, as 
he was coming down. Looking up at him, I made a 
misstep, and came near dropping a portion of my 
burden. ‘My good man,’ said he, with a queer smile, 
‘if you would learn to carry your coals as well as 
you carry your age you would do well.’ I don’t 
remember what I said in reply. But I know I thought 
if Charles Lamb could be made aware of my real age 
he would abandon bis Elia work and devote himself 
to me.” 

“It is a pity you did not tell him,” I suggested. 

“No,” replied my host. “He might have been in- 
terested, but he could not have appreciated the situa- 
227 


THE VIZIER OF ALEXANDER 


tion, even if I had told him everything. He would 
not really have known my age, for he would not have 
believed me. I might have found myself in a lunatic 
asylum. I never saw Lamb again, and very soon after 
that meeting I came to America.” 


228 


II 

“There are two points about your story that I do not 
comprehend,” said I (and as I spoke I could not help 
the thought that in reality I did not comprehend any 
of it). “In the first place, I don’t see how you could 
live for a generation or two in one place and then go 
off to an entirely new locality. I should think there 
were not enough inhabited spots in the world to ac- 
commodate you in such extensive changes.” 

Mr. Crowder smiled. “I don’t wonder you ask that 
question,” he said ; “but in fact it was not always 
necessary for me to seek new places. There are towns 
in which I have taken up my residence many times. 
But, as I arrived each time as a stranger from afar, 
and as these sojourns were separated by many years, 
there was no one to suppose me to be a person who 
had lived in that place a century or two before.” 

“Then you never had your portrait painted,” I 
remarked. 

“Oh, yes, I have,” he replied. “Toward the close 
of the thirteenth century I was living in Florence, 
being at that time married to a lady of wealthy family, 
and she insisted upon my having my portrait painted 
by Cimabue, who, as you know, was the master of 
Giotto. After my wife’s death I departed from 
229 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


Florence, leaving behind me the impression that I 
intended soon to return ; and I would have been glad 
to take the portrait with me, but I had no oppor- 
tunity. It was in 1503 that I went back to Florence, 
and as soon as I could I visited the stately mansion 
where I had once lived, and there in the gallery still 
hung the portrait. This was an unsatisfactory dis- 
covery, for I might wish at some future time to settle 
again in Florence, and I had hoped that the portrait 
had faded, or that it had been destroyed ; but Cimabue 
painted too well, and his work was then held in high 
value, without regard to his subject. Finding myself 
entirely alone in the gallery, I cut that picture from 
its frame ; I concealed it under my cloak, and when 
I reached my lodging I utterly destroyed it. I did 
not feel that I was committing any crime in doing 
this. I had ordered and paid for the painting, and I 
felt that I had a right to do what I pleased with it.” 

“I don’t see how* you can help having your picture 
taken in these days,” I said. “Even if you refuse to 
go to a photographer’s, you can’t escape the kodak 
people. You have a striking presence.” 

“Oh, I can’t get away from photographers,” he an- 
swered. “I have had a number of pictures taken, at 
the request of my wife and other people. It is im- 
possible to avoid it, and that is one of the reasons why 
I am now telling you my story. What is the other 
point about which you wished to ask me ? ” 

“I cannot comprehend,” I answered, “how you 
should ever have found yourself poor and obliged to 
work. I should say that a man who had lived so long 
would have accumulated, in one way or another, im- 
mense wealth, inexhaustible treasures.” 

230 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“Oh, yes,” said he, with a smile. “Monte Cristo, 
and all that sort of thing. Your notion is a perfectly 
natural one, but I assure you, Mr. Randolph, that it is 
founded upon a mistake. Over and over and over 
again I have amassed wealth. But I have not been 
able to retain it permanently, and often I have suf- 
fered for the very necessaries of life. I have been 
hungry, knowing that I could never starve. The ex- 
planation of this state of things is simple enough : I 
would trade, I would speculate, I would marry an 
heiress ; I would become rich. For many years I would 
enjoy my possessions. Then the time would come 
when people said : 6 Who owns these houses ? ’ ‘ To 
whom belongs this money in the banks?’ ‘ These 
properties were purchased in our great-grandfathers’ 
times ; the accounts in the banks were opened long 
before our oldest citizens were born. Who is it who 
is making out leases and drawing checks ? ’ 

“I have used many subterfuges in order to retain my 
property, but I have always found that to prove 
my continued identity I should have to acknowledge 
my immortality ; and in that case, of course, I should 
have been adjudged a lunatic, and everything would 
have been taken from me. So I generally managed, 
before the time arrived when it was actually necessary 
for me to do so, to turn my property, as far as possible, 
into money, and establish myself in some other place 
as a stranger. But there were times when I was 
obliged to hurry from my home and take nothing 
with me. Then I knew misery. 

“It was during the period of one of my greatest 
depressions that I met with a monk who was after- 
wards St. Bruno, and I joined the Carthusian monas- 
231 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


tery which he founded in Calabria. In the midst of 
their asceticism, their seclusion, and their silence I 
hoped that I might be asked no questions, and need 
tell no lies ; I hoped that I might be allowed to live 
as long as I pleased without disturbance : but I found 
no such immunity. When Bruno died, and his suc- 
cessor had followed him into the grave, it was pro- 
posed that I should be the next prior ; but this would 
not have suited me at all. I had employed all my 
time in engrossing books, but the duties of a prior 
were not for me ; so I escaped, and went out into the 
world again.” 

As I sat and listened to Mr. Crowder, his story 
seemed equally wonderful to me, whether it were a 
plain statement of facts or the relation of an insane 
dream. It was not a wild tale, uttered in the enthu- 
siastic excitement of a disordered mind, but it was a 
series of reminiscences, told quietly and calmly, here 
a little, there a little, without chronological order, 
each one touched upon as it happened to suggest itself. 
From wondering, I found myself every now and then 
believing. But whenever I realized the folly in which 
I was indulging myself, I shook off my credulity and 
endeavored to listen with interest, but without judg- 
ment, for in this way only could I most thoroughly 
enjoy the strange narrative ; but my lapses into un- 
conscious belief were frequent. 

“You have spoken of marriage,” said I. “Have 
you had many wives ? ” 

My host leaned back in his chair and looked up at 
the ceiling. “That is a subject,” he said, “of which I 
think as little as I can, and yet I must speak to you 
of it. It is right that I should do so. I have been 
232 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

married so often that I can scarcely count the wives 
I have had. Beautiful women, good women, some of 
them women to whom I would have given immor- 
tality had I been able. But they died, and died, and 
died. And here is one of the great drawbacks of liv- 
ing forever. 

“Yet it was not always the death of my wives which 
saddened me the most ; it was their power of growing 
old. I would marry a young woman, beautiful, 
charming. You need not be surprised that I was able 
to do this, for in all ages woman has been in the habit 
of disregarding the years of man, and I have always 
had a youthful spirit. I think it is Daudet who says 
that the most dangerous lover is the man of fifty - 
three. I would live happily with a wife ; she would 
gradually grow to be the same age as myself; and 
then she would become older and older, and I did 
not. As I have said, there were women to whom I 
would have given immortality if I could ; but I will 
add that there have been times when I would have 
given up my own immortality to be able to pass 
gently into old age with a beloved wife. 

“You will want to know if I have had descendants. 
They exist by the thousand ; but if you ask me where 
they are, I must tell you that I do not know. I now 
have but one child, a little girl who is asleep up -stairs. 
I have gathered around me families of sons and 
daughters ; they have grown up, married, and my 
grandchildren have sat upon my knees. Sometimes, 
at long intervals, I have known great-grandchildren. 
But when my sons and daughters have grown gray 
and gone to their graves, I have withdrawn myself 
from the younger people,— some of whom were not 
233 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


acquainted with me, others even had never heard of 
me,— and then by the next generation the old ances- 
tor, if remembered at all, was connected only with 
the distant past. And so family after family have 
melted into the great mass of human beings, and are 
as completely lost as though they were water thrown 
into the sea. 

“I have always been fond of beautiful women, and 
as you have met Mrs. Crowder, you know that my 
disposition has not changed. Sarah, the wife of Abra- 
ham, was considered a woman of great beauty in her 
day, and the fame of her charms continues. But I 
assure you that if she lived now her attractions would 
not have given her husband so much trouble. I saw 
a good deal of Sarah when I visited Abraham with 
my master Alexander, and I have seen many more 
beautiful women since that time. Hagar was a fine 
woman, but she was too dark, and her face had an 
anxious expression which interfered with her beauty.” 

“Was Hagar really the wife of Abraham,” I asked, 
“as the Mussulmans say, and was Ishmael considered 
his heir ? ” 

“When I saw them,” my host continued, “the two 
women seemed as friendly as sisters, and Isaac was 
not yet born. At that time it was considered, of 
course, that Ishmael was Abraham’s heir. Certainly 
he was a much finer man than Isaac, with whom I 
became acquainted a long time afterwards. There 
were some very beautiful women at the court of Solo- 
mon. One of these was Balkis, the famous Queen of 
Sheba.” 

“Did you ever meet Cleopatra'?” I interrupted. 

“I never saw her,” was the answer, “but, from 
234 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


what I have heard, I do not think I should have cared 
for her if I had seen her asleep. What might have 
happened had I seen her awake is quite another mat- 
ter. I have noticed that women grow more beautiful 
as the world grows older, and men grow taller and 
better developed. You would consider me, I think, 
a man of average size ; but I tell you that in my early 
life I was exceptionally tall, and I have no doubt it 
was my stature and presence to which I largely owed 
my preferment at the court of Alexander. I was liv- 
ing in Spain toward the close of the tenth century, 
when I married the daughter of an Arabian physician, 
who was a wonderfully beautiful woman. She was 
not dark, like the ordinary Moorish women. In fea- 
ture and form she surpassed any creation of the Greek 
sculptors— and I have been in many of their work- 
shops, and have seen their models. This lady lived 
longer than any other wife I had. She lived so long, 
in fact, that when we left Cordova we both thought 
it well that she should pass as my mother. She was 
one of the few wives to whom I told my story. It did 
not shock her, for she believed her father to be a 
miracle -worker, and she had faith in many strange 
things. Her great desire was to live as long as I 
should, and I think she believed that this might hap- 
pen. She died at the age of one hundred and fifteen, 
and was lively and animated to the very last. My 
first American wife was a fine woman, too. She was 
a French creole, and died fifteen years ago. We had 
no children.” 

“It strikes me,” I said suddenly, “that you must 
understand a great many languages— you speak so 
much of living with people of different nations.” 

235 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


“It would be impossible / 7 be answered, “unless I 
were devoid of ordinary intelligence, to live as long as 
I have and not become a general linguist. Of course 
I bad to learn tbe languages of tbe countries I visited, 
and as I was always a student, it delighted me to do 
so. In fact, I not only studied, but I wrote. When 
tbe Alexandrian library was destroyed, fourteen of 
my books were burned. When I was in Italy with 
my first American wife, I visited tbe museum at 
Naples, and in tbe room where tbe experts were un- 
rolling tbe papyri found in Pompeii, I looked over 
tbe shoulder of one of them, and, to my amazement, 
found that one of tbe rolls was an account-book of my 
own. I bad been a broker in Pompeii, and these 
were tbe records of moneys I bad loaned, on interest, 
to various merchants and tradespeople. I was always 
fond of dealing in money, and at present I am a 
broker in Wall Street. During the first crusades I 
was a banker in Genoa, and lent large sums to the 
noble knights who were setting forth for Jerusalem . 77 

“Was much of it repaid ? 77 I asked. 

“Most of it. Tbe loans were almost always secured 
by good property. As I look back upon tbe vast 
panorama of my life , 77 my host continued, after a 
pause, “I most pleasantly recall my various intimacies 
with learned men, and my own studies and researches ; 
but in tbe great company of men of knowledge whom 
I have known, there was not one in whom I was so 
much interested as in King Solomon. I visited bis 
court because I greatly wished to know a man who 
knew so much. It was not difficult to obtain access 
to him, for I came as a stranger from Ethiopia, to the 
east of the Red Sea, and the king was always anxious 
236 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


to see intelligent people from foreign parts. I was 
able to tell him a good deal which he did not know, 
and he became fond of my society. 

“I found Solomon a very well-informed man. He 
had not read and studied books as much as I had, and 
he had not had my advantages of direct intercourse 
with learned men ; but he was a most earnest and in- 
defatigable student of nature. I believe he knew 
more about natural history than any human being 
then living, or who had preceded him. Whenever it 
was possible for him to do so, he studied animal na- 
ture from the living model, and all the beasts, birds, 
and fishes which it was possible for him to obtain 
alive were quartered in the grounds of his palace. In 
a certain way he was an animal- tamer. You may 
well imagine that this great king’s wonderful posses- 
sions, as well as the man himself, were the source of 
continual delight to me. 

“The time-honored story of Solomon’s carpet on 
which he mounted and was wafted away to any place, 
with his retinue, had a good deal of foundation in 
fact $ for Solomon was an exceedingly ingenious man, 
and not only constructed parachutes by which people 
could safely descend from great heights, but he made 
some attempts in the direction of ballooning. I have 
seen small bags of thin silk, covered with a fine var- 
nish made of gum to render them air-tight, which, 
being inflated with hot air and properly ballasted, 
rose high above the earth, and were wafted out of 
sight by the wind. Many people supposed that in 
the course of time Solomon would be able to travel 
through the air, and from this idea was derived the 
tradition that he really did so. 

237 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


“ Another of the interesting legends regarding King 
Solomon concerned his dominion over the Jinns. 
These people, of whom so much has been written and 
handed down by word of mouth, and who were sup- 
posed by subsequent generations to be a race of servile 
demons, were, in reality, savage natives of surround- 
ing countries, who were forced by the king to work 
on his great buildings and other enterprises, and who 
occupied very much the position of the coolies of the 
present day. But that story of the dead Solomon and 
the Jinns who were at work on the temple gives a 
good idea of one of the most important characteristics 
of this great ruler. He was a man who gave personal 
attention to all his affairs, and was in the habit of 
overseeing the laborers on his public works. Do you 
remember the story to which I refer? ” 

I was obliged to say that I did not think I had 
ever heard it. 

“The story runs thus,” said my host : “The Jinns 
were at work building the temple, and Solomon, ac- 
cording to his custom, overlooked them daily. At 
the time when the temple was nearly completed Solo- 
mon felt that his strength was passing from him, and 
that he would not have much longer to live. This 
greatly troubled him, for he knew that if he should 
sicken and the Jinns should find his watchful eye no 
more upon them, they would rebel and refuse to 
work, and the temple would not be finished during 
his reign. Therefore, as the story runs, he came, one 
day, into the temple, and hoped that he might be en- 
abled to remain there until the great edifice should 
be finished. He stood leaning on his staff, and the 
Jinns, when they beheld their master, continued to 
238 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


work, and work, and work. When night came Solo- 
mon still remained standing in his accustomed place, 
and the Jinns worked on, afraid to cease their toil for 
a moment. 

“ Standing thus, Solomon died. But the Jinns did 
not know it, and their toil and labor continued, by 
night and by day. Now, according to the tradition, 
a little white ant, one of the kind which devours 
wood, came up out of the earth on the very day on 
which Solomon died, and began to gnaw the inside of 
his staff. She gnawed a little every day, until at last 
the staff became hollow from one end to the other, 
and on the day when she finished her work, the work 
of the Jinns was also finished. Then the staff 
crumbled, and the dead Solomon fell, face foremost, 
to the earth. The Jinns, perceiving that they had 
been slaving day and night for a master who was 
dead, fled away with yells of rage and vexation. But 
the glorious temple was finished, and King Solomon’s 
work was done. Tabari tells this story, and it is also 
found in the Koran ; but the origin of it was nothing 
more than the well-known custom of Solomon to ex- 
ercise personal supervision over those who were work- 
ing for him. 

“I was the person from whom Solomon first heard 
of the Queen of Sheba. I had lived in her capital 
city for several years, and she had summoned me be- 
fore her, and had inquired about the places I had 
visited and the things I had seen. What I said about 
this wonderful woman and the admirable administra- 
tion of her empire interested Solomon very much, and 
he was never tired of hearing me talk about her. At 
one time I believe he thought of sending me as an 
239 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


ambassador to her, but afterwards gave up this no- 
tion, as I did not possess the rank or position which 
would have qualified me to represent him and his 
court 5 so he sent a suitable delegation, and, after a 
great deal of negotiation and diplomatic by-play, the 
queen actually determined to come to see Solomon. 
Soon after her arrival with her great retinue, she saw 
me, and immediately recognized me, and the first 
thing she said to me was that she perceived I had 
grown a good deal older than when I had been living 
in her domains. This delighted me, for before coming 
to Jerusalem I had allowed my hair and beard to 
grow, and had dispensed with as much as possible of 
my ordinary erect mien and lightness of step ; for I 
was very much afraid, if I were not careful, that the 
wise king would find out that there was something 
irregular in my longevity, and an old man may con- 
tinue to look old much longer than a middle-aged 
man can continue to appear middle-aged. 

“It was a great advantage to me to find myself ad- 
mitted to a certain intimacy with both the king and 
his visitor the queen. As I was a subject of neither 
of them, they seemed to think this circumstance al- 
lowed a little more familiarity than otherwise they 
would have shown. Besides, my age had a great deal 
to do with the freedom with which they spoke to me. 
Each of them seemed anxious to know everything I 
could tell about the other, and I would sometimes be 
subjected to embarrassing questions. 

“There is a great deal of extravagance and perver- 
sion in the historical and traditional accounts of the 
tricks which these two royal personages played upon 
each other. Most of these old stories are too silly to 
240 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


repeat, but some of them had foundation in fact. 
They tell a tale of how the queen set five hundred 
boys and five hundred girls before the king, all the 
girls dressed as boys and all the boys dressed as girls, 
and then she asked him, as he was such a wise man, 
immediately to distinguish those of one sex from those 
of the other. Solomon did not hesitate a moment, 
but ordering basins of water to be brought, he com- 
manded the young people to wash their hands. 
Thereupon he watched them closely, and as the boys 
washed only their hands, while the girls rolled up 
their sleeves and washed their arms as well as their 
hands, Solomon was able, without any trouble, to pick 
out the one from the other. Xow, something of this 
kind really happened, but there were only ten boys 
and ten girls. But in the course of ages the story 
grew, and the whole thing was made absurd ; for 
there never was a king in the world, nor would there 
be likely to be one, who could have a thousand basins 
ready immediately to put before a company who 
wished to wash their hands. But the result of this 
scheme convinced the queen that Solomon was a man 
of the deepest insight into the manners and customs 
of human beings, as well as those of animals, birds, 
and fishes. 

“But there is an incident with which I was person- 
ally connected which was known at the time to very 
few people, and was never publicly related. The 
beautiful queen desired, above all other things, to 
know whether Solomon held her in such high esteem 
because she was a mighty queen, or on account of her 
personal attractions ; and, in order to discover the 
truth in regard to this question, she devised a little 
241 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


scheme to which she made me a party. There was a 
young woman in her train, of surpassing beauty, whose 
name was Liridi, and the queen was sure that Solo- 
mon had never seen her, for it was her custom to 
keep her most beautiful attendants in the background. 
This maiden the queen caused to be dressed in the 
richest and most becoming robes, and adorned her, 
besides, with jewels and golden ornaments, which set 
off her beauty in an amazing manner. Then, having 
made many inquiries of me in regard to the habits of 
Solomon, she ordered Liridi to walk alone in one of 
the broad paths of the royal gardens at the time when 
the king was wont to stroll there by himself. The 
queen wished to find out whether this charming ap- 
parition would cause the king to forget her for a time, 
and she ordered me to be in the garden, and so ar- 
range my rambles that I could, without being ob- 
served, notice what happened when the king should 
meet Liridi. I was on hand before the appointed 
time, and when I saw the girl walking slowly up the 
shaded avenue, I felt obliged to go to her and tell her 
that she was too soon, and that she must not meet 
Solomon near the palace. As I spoke to her I was 
amazed at her wonderful beauty, and I did not believe 
it possible that the king could gaze upon her without 
such emotion as would make him forget for the mo- 
ment every other woman in the world. 

“The queen had purposely made an appointment 
with him for the same hour, so that if he did not come 
she would know what was detaining him. At length 
Solomon appeared at the far end of the avenue, and 
Liridi began again her pensive stroll. When the 
king reached her, she retired to one side, her head 
242 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


bowed, as if she had not expected to meet royalty 
in this secluded spot. King Solomon was deep in 
thought as he walked, but when he came near the 
maiden, he raised his eyes and suddenly stopped. I 
was near by, behind some shrubbery, and it was plain 
enough to me that he was dazzled by this lovely ap- 
parition. He asked her who she was, and when she 
had told him he gazed at her with still greater atten- 
tion. Then suddenly he laughed aloud. 1 Go tell the 
queen/ said he , c that she hath missed her mark. The 
arrow which is adorned with golden trappings and 
precious stones cannot fly aright.’ Then he went on, 
still laughing to himself. In the evening he told me 
about this incident, and said that if the maiden had 
been arrayed in the simple robes which became her 
station he would have suspected nothing, and would 
probably have stopped to converse with her so long 
that he would have failed to keep his appointment 
with his royal guest. 

“The queen was very much annoyed at the ill suc- 
cess of her little artifice, but it was not long after this 
that she and the king discovered their true feeling 
for each other, and they were soon married. The 
wedding was a grand one— grander than tradition re- 
lates, grander than the modern mind can easily com- 
prehend. When they went to the palace to sit for 
the first time in state before the vast assembly of dig- 
nitaries and courtiers, the queen found, beside the 
throne of Solomon, her own throne, which he had 
caused to be brought from Sheba in time for this occa- 
sion. This incident, I think, affected her more agree- 
ably than anything else that happened. Great were 
the festivities. Honors and dignities were bestowed 
243 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


on every hand, and I might have come in for some 
substantial benefit had it not been that I committed 
a great blunder. I had fallen in love with the 
beautiful Liridi, and as the queen seemed so gracious 
and kind to everybody, I made bold to go to her and 
ask that she would allow me to marry her charming 
handmaiden. But, to my surprise, this request angered 
the queen. She told me that such an old man as my- 
self ought to be ashamed to take a young girl to wife ; 
that she was opposed to such marriages ; and that, in 
fact, I ought to be punished for even mentioning the 
subject. 

“I retired in disgrace, and very soon afterwards I left 
Jerusalem, for I have found, by varied experiences, 
that the displeasure of rulers is an unhealthful atmos- 
phere in which to live. However, the Queen of Sheba 
did not get altogether the better of me. As you know, 
King Solomon and his royal wife did not reign to- 
gether very long. They ruled over two great king- 
doms, each of which required the presence of its 
sovereign ; so Queen Balkis soon went back to Sheba 
with more wealth, more soldiers, more camels, horses, 
and grand surroundings of every kind, than she had 
brought with her. She carried in her baggage-train 
her royal throne, but she did not take with her the 
beautiful Liridi. That lady had been given in mar- 
riage to an officer in Solomon’s army ; and thirty years 
afterwards, in the land of Asshur, where her father 
was stationed, I married the youngest daughter of 
Liridi. The latter was then dead, but my wife, with 
whom I lived happily for many years in Phenicia, was 
quite as beautiful. I was greatly inclined, at the 
time, to send a courier with a letter to the Queen of 
244 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


Sheba, informing her of what had happened ; but I 
was afraid. She was then an elderly woman, and I 
was informed that age had actually sharpened her 
wits, so that if I had incensed her and given her reason 
to suspect the truth about my unnatural age, I believe 
there was no known country in which I could have 
concealed myself from her emissaries. 

“ There are many, many incidents which crowd upon 
my memory,” continued my host, “but— ” and as he 
spoke he pulled out his watch. “My conscience ! ” he 
exclaimed, “it is twenty minutes past three ! I should 
be ashamed of myself, Mr. Randolph, for having kept 
you up so long.” 

We both rose to our feet, and I was about to say 
something polite suited to the occasion, but he gave 
me no chance. 

“I felt I must talk to you,” he said, speaking very 
rapidly. “I have discovered you to be a man of ap- 
preciation— a man who should hear my story. I have 
felt for some years that it would soon become impos- 
sible for me to conceal my experiences from my fellow- 
men. I believe mankind has now reached a stage of 
enlightenment— at least, in this country— when the 
person who makes strange discoveries which cannot be 
explained, and the person who announces facts which 
cannot be comprehended by the human mind, need 
not fear to be punished as a sorcerer, or thrust into a 
cell as a lunatic. I may be mistaken in regard to this 
latter point, but I think I am right. In any case, I 
do not wish to live much longer as I have been living. 
As I must live on, with generation after generation 
rising up about me, I want those generations to know 
before they depart from this earth that I am a person 
245 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


who does not die. I am tired of deceptions ; I am 
tired of leaving the places where I have lived long and 
am known, and arriving in other places where I am a 
stranger, and where I must begin my life again. 

“I do not wish to be in a hurry to make my revela- 
tions to the world at large. I do not wish to startle 
people without being able to show them proof of what 
I say. I wish to speak only to persons who are worthy 
to hear my story, and I have begun with you. I do 
not want you to believe me until you are quite ready 
to do so. Think over what I have said, consider it 
carefully, and make up your mind slowly. 

“You are a young man in good health, and you 
will, in all probability, live long enough to assure 
yourself of the truth or falsity of what I have told you 
about my indefinite longevity. I should be glad to 
relate my story to scientific men, to physicians, to 
students ; but, as I have said, we shall wait for that. 
In the meantime, you may, if you choose, write down 
what I have told you, or as much of it as you remem- 
ber. I have no written records of my past life. Long, 
long ago I made such, but I destroyed them, for I 
knew not what evil they might bring upon me were 
they discovered. Eut you may write the little I have 
told you, and when you feel that the time has come, 
you may give it to the world. And now we must 
retire. It is wicked to keep you out of your bed any 
longer . 77 

“One word , 77 said I. “Do you intend now to tell 
your wife ! 77 

“Yes , 77 he answered, “I shall tell her to-morrow. 
Having reposed confidence in you, it would be treat- 
ing her shamefully if I should withhold that confi- 
246 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

dence from her. She has often said to me that I do 
not look a day older than when I married her. I 
want her now to know that I need never look a day 
older. I shall counterfeit old age no more.” 

I did not sleep well during what was left of the 
night, for my mind went travelling backward and 
forward through the ages. The next morning, at 
breakfast, Mr. Crowder appeared in his ordinary good 
spirits, but his wife was very quiet. She was pale, and 
occasionally I thought I saw signs of trouble on her 
usually placid brow. I felt sure that he had told her 
his story. As I looked at her, I could not prevent 
myself from seriously wondering that a man who had 
seen Abraham and Sarah, and had been personally 
acquainted with the Queen of Sheba, should now be 
married to a Quaker lady from North Sixteenth 
Street, Philadelphia. After breakfast she found an 
opportunity of speaking to me privately. 

“Do you believe,” she asked very hurriedly, “what 
my husband told you last night— the story of his 
earthly immortality?” 

“I really do not know,” I answered, “whether I be- 
lieve it or not. My reason assures me that it is im- 
possible ; and yet there is in Mr. Crowder’s manner so 
much sincerity, so much—” 

Contrary to her usual habits, I am sure, she inter- 
rupted me. 

“Excuse me,” she said, “but I must speak while I 
have the chance. Y ou must believe what my husband 
has said to you. He has told me everything, and I 
know that it is impossible for him to tell a lie. I 
have not yet arranged my ideas in regard to this won- 
derful revelation, but I believe. If the time should 
247 


THE VIZIER OF ALEXANDER 


ever come when I shall know I should not believe, 
that will be another matter. But he is my husband. 
I know him, I trust him. Will you not do the same ? 99 

“I will do it,” I exclaimed, “ until the time comes 
when I shall know that I cannot possibly do so.” 

She gave me her hand, and I shook it heartily. 


248 


Ill 

About four months after my first acquaintance with 
Mr. and Mrs. Crowder, I found myself again in New 
York. And when I called at the house of my friends, 
I received from them a most earnest invitation to take 
up my abode with them during my stay in the city. 

Of course this invitation was eagerly accepted, for 
not only was the Crowder house a home of the most 
charming hospitality, but my interest in the extraor- 
dinary man, who was evidently so glad to be my host, 
was such that not one day had passed since I last saw 
him, in which I did not think of him, and consider 
his marvellous statements from every point of view 
which my judgment was capable of commanding. I 
found Mr. Crowder unchanged in appearance and 
manner, and his wife was the same charming young 
woman I had known. But there was nothing sur- 
prising in this. People generally do not change very 
much in four months ; and yet, in talking to Mr. 
Crowder, I could not prevent myself from earnestly 
scanning his features to see if he had grown any 
older. 

He noticed this, and laughed heartily. “It is natu- 
ral enough , 77 he said, “that you should wish to assure 
yourself that there is a good foundation to your belief 
249 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


in what I have told yon ; but you are in too great a 
hurry : you must wait some years for that sort of proof, 
one way or the other. But I believe that you do be- 
lieve in me, and I am not in the least disturbed by the 
way you look at me.” 

After dinner, on the first day of my visit, when we 
were smoking together, I asked Mr. Crowder if he 
would not continue the recital of his experiences, 
which were of such absorbing interest to me that 
sometimes I found them occupying my mind to an 
extent which excluded the consideration of every- 
thing relating to myself and the present time. 

“From one point of view,” he said, “that would be 
a bad thing for you. But I don’t look at it in that 
way ; in fact, I hope you may become my biographer. 
I will furnish you with material enough, and you can 
arrange it and put it in shape ; that is, if, in the course 
of a few years, you consider that, in doing what I 
ask of you, you will be writing the true life of a man, 
and not a collection of fanciful stories. So I hope you 
may find that you have not lost your time when think- 
ing so much of a man of the past.” 

Now, there is no doubt that I did most thoroughly 
believe in Crowder. I had argued with myself against 
this belief to the utmost extent of my ability, and I 
had now given up the effort. If I should disbelieve 
him I would deprive myself of one of the most pre- 
cious privileges of my existence, and I did not intend 
to do so until I found myself absolutely forced to 
admit that I was mistaken. Time would settle all 
this, and all that I had to do now was to listen, enjoy, 
and be thankful for the opportunity. 

“I am not going to tell any stories now,” he said, 
250 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“for my wife has not overcome her dislike to tobacco 
smoke, and she has insisted that she shall be one of my 
hearers when I tell stories of my past life to you ; but 
I can tell you this, my friend : she will believe every 
word I say ; there can be no possible doubt of that. 
I have told her a good many things since I saw you 
last, and her faith in me is a joy unspeakable.” 

Of course I was delighted to hear that this charming 
lady was to be my fellow-auditor, and said so. 

“I often think of you two,” said Mr. Crowder, con- 
templatively leaning back in his arm-chair. “I think 
of you together, but I am bound to say that the 
thought is not altogether pleasant.” I showed my 
amazement at this remark. “It can’t be helped,” he 
said. “It can’t be helped. It’s one of the things I 
have to suffer. I have suffered it over and over again 
thousands of times, but I never get used to it. Here 
you are, two young people, young enough to be my 
children : one is my wife, the other, I am proud to 
say, my best friend. You are the only persons in the 
world who know my story. You have faith in me, 
and the thought of that faith is the greatest pleasure 
of my life. Year by year you two will grow older ; 
year by year you will more nearly approach my own 
age, and become, according to the ordinary opinion of 
the world, more suitable companions for me. Then 
you will reach my age. We shall be three gray-haired 
friends. Then will come the saddening time, the 
mournful days. You two will grow older and older, 
and I shall remain where I am— always fifty-three. 
Then you will grow to be elderly— elderly people ; at 
last, aged people. If you live long enough I shall look 
up to you as I would to my parents.” 

251 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


This was a state of things I had never contemplated. 
I could scarcely appreciate it. 

“Of course,” he continued, “I wish you both to live 
long $ but don’t you see how it affects me ? But 
enough of that. Here comes Mrs. Crowder, and with 
her all subjects must be pleasant ones.” 

“I think thee must buy some short cigars,” she said, 
just putting her head inside the door, “to smoke after 
dinner. If large ones are necessary, they can be 
smoked after I go to bed. I am getting very impa- 
tient ; for now that Mr. Randolph is here, I believe 
that thee is going to be unusually interesting.” 

We arose immediately, and joined Mrs. Crowder in 
the library. 

This lady’s use of the plain speech customary with 
Quakers was very pleasant to me. I had had but 
little acquaintance with it, and at first its indepen- 
dence of grammatical rules struck upon me unpleas- 
antly ; but I soon began to enjoy Mrs. Crowder’s 
speech, when she was addressing her husband, much 
more than I did the remarks she made to me, the 
latter being always couched in the most correct Eng- 
lish. There was a sweetness about her “thee ” which 
had the quality of gentle music ; and when she used 
the word “thy” it was pronounced so much like 
“thee” that I could scarcely perceive the difference. 
To her husband and child she always used the Quaker 
speech of the present day ; and as I did not like being 
set aside in this way, I said to her that I hoped there 
was no rule of the Society of Friends which would 
compel her to make a change in her form of speech 
when she addressed me. “If thee likes,” she said, with 
a smile, “thee is welcome to all the plain speech thee 
252 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


wants.” And after that, when she spoke to me, she 
did not turn me out among the world’s people. 

“Xow, you know,” said Mr. Crowder, “that I’m not 
going to play the part of an historian. That sort of 
discourse would bore me, and it would bore you. If 
there is any kind of thing that you would like to hear 
about, all you have to do is to ask me; and if you 
don’t care to do this, I will tell you whatever comes 
up in my memory, without any regard to chronology 
or geography, just as I talked to you before. If I 
were to begin at the beginning and go straight along, 
even if I skipped ever so much, the story would— it 
would be a great deal too long.” 

I am sure that Mrs. Crowder and I both felt what 
he did not wish to say— that we were not likely to live 
to hear it all. 

“There are a great many things I should like to ask 
thee,” said Mrs. Crowder, speaking quickly, as if to 
change the subject of her thoughts ; “but I believe I 
have forgotten most of them. But here is something 
I should like to know— that is,” she said, turning to 
me, “if thee hasn’t anything in thy mind which thee 
wishes to ask about?” 

I noticed that she pronounced “thy ” very distinctly, 
a little bit of grammatical conscience probably ob- 
truding itself. Of course I had nothing to ask, and 
she put her question : “What did thee do in the dark 
ages? ” 

Crowder laughed. “That is a big question,” said 
he, “and the only answer I can give you in a general 
way is that there were so many things that I was not 
able to do, or did not dare to do, that I look upon 
those centuries as the most disagreeable part of my 
253 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


whole life. But yon must not suppose that everybody 
felt as I did. A great many of the people by whom 
I was surrounded at that doleful period appeared to be 
happier and better satisfied with their circumstances 
than any I have known before or after. There was 
little ambition, less responsibility $ and if the poor and 
weak suffered from the rapacity and violence of the 
rich and strong, they accepted their misfortunes as if 
they were something they were bound to expect, such 
as bad weather. I am not going to talk history, and 
there is one thing that your question reminds me of. 
During that portion of the middle ages which is des- 
ignated as dark, I employed myself in a great many 
different ways : I was laborer, sailor, teacher, and I 
cannot tell you what besides ; but more frequently 
than anything else I was a teacher.” 

“Thee must have been an angel of light,” Mrs. 
Crowder remarked. 

“No,” said he ; “an angel of light would have been 
very conspicuous in those days. I didn’t pose for such 
a part. In fact, if I had not succeeded in appearing 
like a partial ignoramus I should have been obliged 
to go into a monastery, for in those days the monks 
were the only people who knew anything. They ex- 
pected to do all the teaching that was done. But, for 
all that, a few scholars cropped up now and then, and 
here and there, who did not care to have monks for 
masters $ and by instructing these in a very modest, 
quiet way I frequently managed to make a living.” 

“I should think,” I said, “that at any time and in 
any period you would have been a person of impor- 
tance, with your experience and knowledge of men.” 

Mr. Crowder shook his head. “No,” said he, “not 
254 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


so. To make myself of importance in that time I 
must have been a soldier, and the profession of arms, 
you know, is one I have always avoided. A man who 
cannot be killed should take care that he be not 
wounded.” 

“I am so glad that thee did take care,” ejaculated 
Mrs. Crowder. “But even I cannot see how thee kept 
out of fighting in those disorderly times.” 

“I did not keep out of it altogether, but in every 
possible way I tried to do so, and for the most part 
succeeded. Whenever I was likely to be involved in 
military operations, I let my hair and beard grow, and 
the white-haired old man was usually exempted. I 
have had far more experience in keeping out of battles 
than any other human being has had in the art of 
winning them. But what you two want is a story, and 
I will give you one. 

“During some of the earlier years of the seventh 
century, I was living in Ravenna, and there I had 
three or four scholars whom I taught occasionally. I 
did not dare to keep a regular school, with fixed hours 
and all that, but while I was not working at my trade, 
which was then that of a mason, I gave lessons to some 
young people in the neighborhood. Sometimes I 
taught in the evening, sometimes in bad weather when 
we did not work out of doors. No one of my scholars 
showed any intelligence, except a girl about eighteen 
years old. Her father, I think, was a professional 
robber,— for his family lived very well,— who was 
generally absent from home at the head of a little 
band of desperate fellows, of whom there were a great 
many in that region. 

“This girl, whose name was Rina, had an earnest 
255 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


desire for knowledge, and showed a great capacity for 
imbibing it and retaining it. In fact, I believe she 
was the most intelligent person in that region.” 

“Was she pretty?” asked Mrs. Crowder. 

“Yes,” replied her husband. “She was very good- 
looking. I was so interested in her desire for knowl- 
edge that I taught her a great deal more than I would 
have dared to teach anybody else ; and the more I 
taught, the more she wanted to learn. 

“I soon became very much concerned about Rina. 
Some man of the neighborhood, old or young, would 
be sure to marry her before very long, and then there 
would be an end of the development of what I con- 
sidered the brightest intellect of the day.” 

“So to keep that from happening to her, thee mar- 
ried her thyself? ” asked Mrs. Crowder. 

Her husband smiled. “Yes, that is what I did. 
You know,” he said, addressing me, “that I believe 
Mrs. Crowder takes more interest in my marriages 
than in anything else I have done in the course of 
my career.” 

“Certainly I do,” she said, with a little flush. “Of 
course thee had to be married, and it is natural enough 
that I should want to know whom thee married, and 
all about it.” 

“Well,” said Mr. Crowder, “we must get on with 
this. A priest with whom I was acquainted married 
us, and we immediately fled from Ravenna. After a 
year or two of wandering through benighted countries 
where even kings and rulers could not write their 
names, and where reading seemed to be a lost art, 
except in the monasteries, we made up our minds if 
256 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


possible we would go from darkness into light, and so 
we set out on a journey to China.” 

At this statement Mrs. Crowder and I looked sur- 
prised. 

“I don’t wonder you open your eyes,” said he. “It 
must seem odd to you, unless you are very familiar 
with the history of the period, that we should go from 
Europe to China in search of enlightenment and civili- 
zation ; but that is what we did, and we found what 
we looked for. As the Pope had sent an envoy to 
China, and as some Xestorian missionaries had gone 
there, I believed that we could go. 

“This journey to the Chinese province of hTan-hae 
occupied the greater part of five years ; but to me 
personally that was of no account, for I had time 
enough. Although we passed through all sorts of 
hardships and dangers, my wife was greatly interested 
in the strange things and people she met. Sometimes 
we travelled by water, sometimes on horses and asses, 
and very often we walked. During the last part of 
the journey we joined a caravan which went through 
central Asia. 

“At that time China was ruled by a woman, the 
Empress Woo. For a long time back there had been 
a period of great intellectual activity in China. Lit- 
erature and the arts flourished, and while the great 
personages of Europe did not know how to write, 
these people were printing from wooden blocks. 

“The empress was a remarkable woman. She had 
been one of the widows of a monarch, and when his 
son succeeded to the throne she married him. She 
had great ambition and great ability. She put down 
257 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


her enemies, and she put herself forward. She took 
her husband’s place in all the imperial consultations 
and decisions, and very soon set him aside, and for 
forty years was actual ruler of the empire. 

“She was a great woman, this Empress Woo. Very 
little happened in her dominions that she did not 
know, and when two wanderers arrived from the far 
and unknown West, she sent for me and my wife to 
appear before her at the palace. We were received 
with much favor, for we could do her no possible 
harm, and she was very eager for knowledge. My 
wife was an object of great curiosity to her, as she 
was so different from the Chinese women. But as 
poor Rina could never acquire a word of the language 
of the country, the empress soon ceased to take in- 
terest in her. As I was always very good at picking 
up languages, she had me at the palace a great deal, 
asking all sorts of questions about the Western coun- 
tries and people. I was also able to tell her much 
about bygone ages, which information she thought, of 
course, I had acquired by reading. 

“One day the empress asked me about the marriage 
customs in the West, and wanted to know how many 
wives a man could have in our country. She seemed 
to be so much in earnest, as she spoke, that I was 
frightened. I did not know what to answer. But 
fortunately one of her generals was announced, and 
she did not press the question. As I was leaving the 
palace, one of the officers of the court took me aside, 
and told me that the empress was thinking of marry- 
ing me, and that I had better put on some fine clothes 
when I came again. This was terrible news, but I was 
bound to tell my wife, and we sat up all night talking 
258 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

about it. To escape from that region would have been 
impossible. We were obliged to stay and face the 
inevitable, whatever it might be. 

“The question which Rina and I had to decide was 
a very simple one, but terribly difficult for all that. 
If I should tell the empress that men of my country 
believed that it was right to have but one wife, Rina 
would quickly be disposed of ; so she had to decide 
whether she would prefer to die so that I might marry 
the empress, or to preserve her life and lose her un- 
divided possession of a husband.” 

“I know what I would have done,” said Mrs. Crow- 
der, her eyes very bright. “I would have let her kill 
me. I would never have consented for thee to marry 
the wretch.” 

“That would have pleased her,” said Mr. Crowder ; 
“for she would have had me all the same, and you 
would have been out of the way.” 

“Then I would not have died,” said the little 
Quakeress, almost fiercely $ “I would not have done 
anything to please her. But I don’t know. What 
did thee and thy wife do ? ” 

“We talked and talked and talked,” said Mr. Crow- 
der, “and at last I persuaded her to live ; that is to 
say, not to make herself an obstacle to the wishes of 
the empress. It was a terrible trial, but she con- 
sented. The more insignificant she became, I told 
her, the greater her chances of safety. 

“The next day the empress sent for me, as I was 
sure she would do. 

“‘You did not tell me,’ she said, ‘how many wives 
your men have.’ ‘That all depends upon the will of 
our sovereign,’ I replied. ‘In matrimonial affairs we 
259 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


do as we are commanded. When we have no com- 
mands from the throne, our circumstances regulate 
the matter .’ r 

“Thee did tell a dreadful lie while thee was about 
it,” said Mrs. Crowder, “but I suppose thee had to.” 

“You are right there,” said her husband. “And my 
answer pleased the empress. ‘That is what I like,’ 
she said. ‘The monarch should settle all these mat- 
ters. I hope some day to settle them in this country.’ 
Then, without any hesitation or preface, she an- 
nounced her intention of marrying me. ‘I greatly 
need,’ she said, ‘a learned man for an imperial con- 
sort. My present husband knows nothing. I never 
trust him with any affairs of state. But I have never 
asked you anything to which you did not give me a 
satisfactory answer.’ Now, my dear,” said Mr. Crow- 
der, “you see the reward of vanity. If I had pre- 
tended to be a fool instead of aspiring to be a 
philosopher and an historian, I should never have 
attracted the interest of the queen.” 

“And did thee marry her ? ” asked his wife. “I do 
so pity poor Rina ! ” 

“I’ll tell you how it turned out,” he continued. 
“After pressing me a good deal, the empress said : ‘I 
had intended to marry you in a few days, or as soon 
as the preparations could be made ; but I have now 
postponed that ceremony. I find that military affairs 
must occupy me for some time, and it would be better 
for me at present to marry one of my generals. A 
military man is what the country needs. But I shall 
want a counsellor of your sort very soon, so you must 
hold yourself ready to marry me whenever I shall 
notify you.’ 


260 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“My instincts prompted me to ask her what the 
imperial general might he apt to think about the 
increase in her matrimonial forces, but I was wise 
enough to hold my tongue. When the general should 
cease to be of use to her, I knew very well that he 
would not be likely to offer opposition to anything on 
earth.” 

“How glad I am,” ejaculated Mrs. Crowder, “that 
thee didn’t ask any questions, and that thee consented 
to everything the wicked creature said ! ” 

“So am I,” he replied. “And I was glad to get out 
of that palace, which I never entered again. From 
that day I began to grow old as fast as I could. My 
hair and beard became very long ; I ate but little ; I 
stooped more and more each day, and walked with a 
staff. I began to be very forgetful when people asked 
me questions. About a year afterwards the queen 
saw me. I was in the crowd near the palace, where 
I had purposely gone that I might be seen. She 
looked at me, but gave no sign that she recognized 
me. The next day an officer came to me, and roughly 
told me that the empress had no use for dotards in her 
dominions, and that the sooner I went away the better 
for me. I afterwards heard that the execution of two 
strangers had been ordered, but that a certain super- 
stition in the mind of the empress had prevented this. 
She had heard, through persons who had met the 
Nestorians, that people of our country were protected 
in some strange manner which she did not understand. 

“Rina and I could not leave China, for I had now 
no money. But we went to a distant province, where 
I lived for more than ten years, passing as a China- 
man.” 


261 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


“And Rina— poor Rina?” asked Mrs. Crowder. 

“She soon died,” said her husband. “She was in a 
state of fear nearly all the time. She could not speak 
the language, and it may be said that she gave up her 
life in her pursuit of knowledge. In this respect she 
was as wonderful a woman as was the Empress Woo.” 

“And a thousand times better,” said Mrs. Crowder, 
earnestly. “And then?” 

“Then,” said her husband, “I married a Chinese 
woman.” 

“What ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder, her eyes almost 
round. 

“Yes, my dear $ it was a great deal safer for me to 
be married, and to become as nearly as possible like 
the people by whom I was surrounded.” 

“But thee didn’t have several wives, did thee?” 
asked Mrs. Crowder. 

“Oh, no,” he answered. “I was too poor for any- 
thing of that kind to be expected of me. When an 
opportunity came to join a caravan and get away, I 
took my Chinese wife with me, and eventually reached 
Arabia. There we stayed for a long time, for I found 
it impossible to prosecute my j ourneying. Eventually, 
however, we reached the island of Malta, where my 
wife lived to be over seventy. Travel, hardships, and 
danger seemed to agree with her. She never spoke 
any language but her own, and as she was of a quiet 
disposition, and took no interest in the things she saw, 
she generally passed as an imbecile. But she was the 
first Chinese woman who ever visited Europe.” 

“I guess thee was very sorry thee brought her be- 
fore thee got through with her. I don’t approve of 
that matrimonial alliance at all,” said Mrs. Crowder. 

262 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

During this and succeeding evenings of narration, 
it must not be supposed I sat silent, making no re- 
marks upon what I heard ; but, in fact, what I said 
was of hardly any importance, and certainly not worth 
introducing into this account of Mr. Crowder’s experi- 
ences. But the effect of his words upon Mrs. Crowder, 
as shown both by the play of her features and her 
frequent questions and exclamations, interested me 
almost as much as the statements of my host. I had 
previously known her as the gentlest, the sweetest, 
and the most attractive of my female acquaintances ; 
but now I found her to be a woman of keen intellect 
and quick appreciation. Her remarks, which were 
very frequent, and which I shall not always record, 
were like seasoning and spice to the narrative of Mr. 
Crowder. Never before had a wife heard such stories 
from a husband, and there never could have been a 
woman who would have heard them with such relig- 
ious faith. Naturally, she showed me a most friendly 
confidence. The fact that we were both the loyal 
disciples of one master was a bond between us. He 
was so much older than either of us, and he regarded 
us sometimes with what looked so much like parental 
affection, that it would not have been surprising if 
persons, not believers as we were, should have enter- 
tained the idea that, in course of time, he would pass 
away, and that we two should be left to comfort each 
other as well as we might. But I, who had heard my 
friend speak of the coming years, could not forget the 
picture he had drawn of two aged and feeble people, 
looked up to in love and veneration by a fresh and 
hearty man of fifty-three. 

“Thee never seemed to have any trouble in getting 
263 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


married/’ said Mrs. Crowder. “Did thee ever stay an 
old bachelor any length of time ? ” 

Crowder laughed. Such questions from his wife 
amused him very much. 

“I was thinking of changing the subject/’ said he, 
“and was about to tell you something which had not 
anything to do with wives and marriages. I thought 
you might be tired of that sort of thing.” 

“Not at all,” said she, quickly. “That’s just what 
I want to hear.” 

“Very well/’ answered he. “I will give you a 
little instance of one of my failures in love-making. 

“It was long before my visit to Empress Woo ; in 
fact, it was about eleven hundred years before Christ, 
and I was living in Syria, where I was teaching school 
in the little town of Timnath. I became very much 
interested in one of the girls of my class. She was a 
good deal older than any of the others ; in fact, she 
was a young woman. She had a bright mind, and 
was eager to learn, and I naturally became interested 
in her, and in the course of time she pleased me so 
much that I determined to marry her.” 

“It seems thee was in the habit of marrying thy 
scholars,” said Mrs. Crowder. 

“There is nothing very strange in that,” he replied. 
“A schoolmaster usually becomes very well acquainted 
with some of his scholars, and if a girl pleases him very 
much it is not surprising that he should prefer to 
marry her, or at least to try to, than to go out among 
comparative strangers to look for a wife.” 

“If I had been in thy place,” said Mrs. Crowder, 
reflectively, “sometimes I would have enjoyed a long 
rest of bachelordom. It would have been a variety.” 

264 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“Oh, I have had variety of that kind,” said he. 
“For many succeeding decades I have been widower, 
or bachelor, whichever you choose to call it. 

“As I was saying, this girl pleased me very much. 
She was good-looking, bright, and witty, and her dark, 
flashing eyes won her a great deal of attention from 
the young men of the place. But she would not have 
anything to do with them. They could not boast 
much in regard to intelligence or education, nor were 
any of them in very good circumstances. And so, in 
spite of my years, she seemed to take very kindly to 
me, and I made up my mind I would marry her the 
approaching autumn. I had some money, and there 
was a house with a piece of land for sale near the town. 
This I planned to buy, and to settle down as an agri- 
culturist. I was tired of school-teaching.” 

“No wonder,” said Mrs. Crowder, “as thee intended 
to take out of it its principal attraction.” 

“We were walking, one evening, over the fields, 
talking of astronomy, in which she took a great in- 
terest, when we saw a man approaching who was evi- 
dently a stranger. He was a fellow of medium height, 
but he gave the impression of great size and vigor. 
As he came nearer, striding over the rough places, 
and paying no attention to paths, I saw that he was 
very broad-shouldered, with a heavy body and thick 
neck. His legs were probably of average size, but 
they looked somewhat small in comparison with his 
body and his long arms, which swung by his sides as 
he walked. He was a young man, bushy -bearded, with 
bright and observant eyes. As he passed us, he looked 
very hard at my companion, and, I am sorry to say, 
she turned her head and gazed steadfastly at him. 

265 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


“ ‘ That’s a fine figure of a man/ she said. ‘ He looks 
strong enough for anything.’ 

“I didn’t encourage her admiration. ‘He might be 
made useful on a farm/ I said. ‘ If his legs were as big 
as the rest of him ; he could draw a plough as well as 
an ox.’ 

“She made no answer to this, but her interest in 
astronomy seemed to decrease, and she soon proposed 
that we should turn back to the town. On the way 
we met the stranger again, and this time he stopped 
and asked us some questions about the country and 
the neighborhood. All the time we were talking he 
and my scholar were looking at each other, and each 
of them seemed entirely satisfied with the survey. 
The next day the girl was very inattentive at school, 
and in the afternoon, when I hoped to take a walk 
with her, I could not find her, and went out by myself. 
Before long I saw her sitting under a tree, talking to 
the stranger of yesterday.” 

“She was a regular flirt,” said Mrs. Crowder. 

“Apparently she was,” replied her husband. “But 
although I might have excused her, considering how 
much better suited this stranger was to her, in point 
of years at least, I was not willing to withdraw and 
leave her to another, especially as he might be a per- 
son entirely unworthy of her. 

“I did not disturb them, but I went back to the 
town and made some inquiries about the stranger. I 
found that he was a Danite, and lived with his parents 
in Zorah, and that his name was Samson. I also 
learned that his family was possessed of considerable 
means. 

“It soon became plain that it would not be easy for 
266 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


me to carry out my marriage plans and settle down 
among my vines and fig-trees. Samson went home, 
told his parents of his desire to marry this girl, and in 
the course of time they all came down to Timnath 
and made regular matrimonial propositions to her 
parents.” 

“Was this the great Samson who tore lions apart 
and threw down temples?” asked Mrs. Crowder, in 
amazement. 

“The very man,” was the reply. “And he was the 
most formidable rival I ever had in that sort of affair. 
The proper thing for me to do, according to the custom 
of the times, would have been to take him aside, as 
soon as I found that he was paying attentions to my 
sweetheart, and fight him ; but the more I looked at 
him and his peculiar proportions, the more I was con- 
vinced that he was not a man with whom I wanted to 
fight.” 

“I should think not,” said Mrs. Crowder. “How 
glad I am thee never touched him ! ” 

“The result might not have been disastrous to me,” 
he said ; “for although I have always avoided military 
matters as much as possible, I was probably better 
versed in the use of a sword than he was. But I did 
not care to kill him, and from what I heard of him 
afterwards, I am sure that if he had ever got those 
long arms around me I should have been a mass of 
broken bones. 

“So, taking everything into consideration, I gave 
up my plan to marry this girl of Timnath $ and I was 
afterwards very glad I did so, for she proved a tricky 
creature, and entered into a conspiracy to deceive 
her husband, actually weeping before him seven days 
267 


THE VIZIER OF ALEXANDER 


in order to worm out of him the secret of his 
strength.” 

“I suppose thee never met Delilah?” asked Mrs. 
Crowder. 

“Oh, no,” he answered. “ Before Samson was mar- 
ried I left that part of the world, and I did not make 
the acquaintance of the attractive young person who 
was so successful in the grand competition of dis- 
covering the source of Samson’s strength. In fact, it 
was nearly a hundred years after that before I heard 
of those great exploits of Samson which have given 
him such wide-spread fame.” 

“I am glad thee never met Delilah,” said Mrs. 
Crowder, reflectively ; “for thee, too, was possessed of 
a great secret, and she might have gained it from 
thee.” 


268 


IV 

“I think thee was in great danger,” continued Mrs. 
Crowder, “‘in that Samson business. It makes me 
shudder to think, even now, of what might have hap- 
pened to thee.” 

“ There was not much danger,” said he, “for all I 
had to do was to withdraw, and there was an end to 
the matter. I have often and often been in greater 
danger than that. For instance, I was in the army of 
Xerxes, compelled to enter it simply because I hap- 
pened to be in Persia. My sympathies were entirely 
with the Greeks. My age did not protect me at all. 
Everybody who in any way could be made useful was 
dragged into that army. It was known that I had a 
knowledge of engineering and surveying, and I was 
taken into the army to help build bridges and lay out 
camps. 

“Here it was that I saw the curious method of 
counting the soldiers which was adopted by the officers 
of Xerxes’s army. As you may have read, ten thou- 
sand men were collected on a plain and made to stand 
close together in a mass nearly circular in shape. Then 
a strong fence, with a wide gate to the west and an- 
other to the east, was built around them, and I was 
engaged in the constructing and strengthening of this 
269 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


fence. When the fence was finished, the men were 
ordered to march out of the enclosure, and other sol- 
diers marched in until it was again entirely filled. 
This process was repeated until the whole army had 
been in the enclosure. Thus they got rid of the labor 
of counting — measuring the army instead of enumerat- 
ing it. But the results were not accurate. I was 
greatly interested in the matter, and on three occa- 
sions I stood at the exit gate as the soldiers were 
coming out, and counted them, and the number never 
amounted to ten thousand. One counting showed less 
than seven thousand,— the men did not pack them- 
selves together as closely as they were packed the first 
time,— so I am confident that Xerxes’s army was not so 
large as it was reported to be. 

“ I became so much interested in the operations and 
constitution of this great horde of soldiers, attendants, 
animals, vehicles, and ships, that I went about looking 
at everything and getting all the information possible. 
In these days I would have been a war correspondent, 
and I did act somewhat in that capacity $ for I told 
Herodotus a great many of the facts which he put into 
his history of this great campaign.” 

“Thee knew Herodotus'?” his wife asked. 

“Oh, yes. I worked with him a long time, and gave 
him information which helped him very much in 
writing his histories ; but it would have been of greater 
advantage to the world if he had adhered more closely 
to my statements. I told him what I discovered in 
regard to the enumeration of the army of Xerxes, but 
he wanted to make that army as big as he could, and 
he paid little attention to my remonstrances. 

“Herodotus was only four years old when Xerxes 
270 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

invaded Greece, and of course all his knowledge con- 
cerning that expedition was second-hand, and by the 
time he began to write his history of the campaign 
there were very few people living who knew anything 
personally about it. If he had not been a man so 
entirely wrapped up in his own work he would have 
wondered how any one of my apparent age could give 
him so much in the way of personal experience ; but 
he seemed to have no suspicions, and, at any rate, 
asked no questions, and as I had a great desire that 
this remarkable historical event should be fully re- 
corded, I helped him as much as I could. 

“I had been assisting in the construction of the 
canal behind Mount Athos, which Xerxes made in 
order to afford a short cut for his vessels, and as I had 
frequently climbed into the various portions of the 
mountain in order to make surveys of the country 
below, I had obtained a pretty good knowledge of the 
neighborhood ; and when disaster after disaster began 
to hurl themselves upon this unfortunate multitude 
of invaders, I took measures for my safety. I did not 
want to go back to Persia, even if I could go there, 
which looked very doubtful after the battle of Salamis, 
and as I had come into the country with the Persians, 
it might have been unsafe to show myself with the 
Greeks $ so, remembering what I had seen of the wild 
regions of Mount Athos, I made my way there, with 
the intention of dwelling in its rocky fastnesses until 
the country should become safe for the ordinary way- 
farer. As there was no opportunity of teaching school 
on that desolate mountain—” 

“And marrying one of thy scholars/’ interpolated 
Mrs. Crowder. 


271 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


“ — I became a sort of hermit/’ he continued. “But 
I did not spend my time after the usual fashion of the 
conventional hermit, who lives on water-cresses and 
reads great books with a skull to keep the pages open. 
I built myself a rude cabin under a great rock, and 
lived somewhat after the fashion of the other inhabi- 
tants of that wild region, mostly robbers and outlaws. 
As I had nothing which any one would want to steal, 
I was not afraid of them, and I could occasionally be 
of a little service to them, especially in the way of 
rude medical attendance, for which they were willing 
to pay me by giving me now and then some food. 

“I had laid in a stock of writing materials before I 
went up on the mountain, and I now went to work 
with great enthusiasm to set down what I knew of the 
expedition of Xerxes, and here it was that I made the 
notes which were afterwards so useful to Herodotus. 

“When the country became quieter I went down 
into the plains, looked over the battle-fields, and ob- 
tained a great deal of information from the villagers 
and country people. I stayed here nearly two years, 
and had a pretty hard time of it. But when I went 
away I took with me a very valuable collection of 
notes. 

“For many years I made no use of these notes ; but 
being in Halicarnassus, I heard of Herodotus, who was 
described as a great scholar and traveller, and engaged 
in writing history. To him I applied without loss of 
time, and I made a regular engagement, working 
several hours with him every day. For this he paid 
me weekly a sum equal to about two dollars and 
seventy-five cents of our present money ; but it was 
enough to support me, and I was very glad to have the 
272 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


opportunity of sending some of my experiences and 
observations down into history. It was at this time 
that the love of literary work began to arise within 
me, and in the next three or four centuries after the 
death of Herodotus I wrote a number of books on 
various subjects and under various names, and some 
of these, as I mentioned before, were destroyed with 
the Alexandrian Library. 

“It was in this period that I made the acquaintance 
of an editor— the first editor, in fact, of whom I know 
anything at all. I was in Ehodes, and there was a 
learned man there named Andronicus, who was en- 
gaged in editing the works of Aristotle. All the 
manuscripts and books which that great philosopher 
left behind him had been given to a friend, or trustee, 
and had passed from this person into the possession of 
others, so that for about a hundred years the world 
knew nothing of them. Then they came into the 
hands of Andronicus, who undertook to edit them and 
get them into proper shape for publication. I went 
to Andronicus, and as soon as he found I was a person 
qualified for such work, he engaged me as his assistant 
editor. I held this position for several years, and two 
or three of the books of Aristotle I transcribed en- 
tirely with my own hand, properly shaping sentences 
and paragraphs, and very often making the necessary 
divisions. From my experience with Andronicus, I 
am sure that none of the works of Aristotle were given 
to the world exactly as he wrote them, for we often 
found his manuscript copies very rough and disjointed 
so far as literary construction was concerned, but I will 
also say that we never interfered with his philosophi- 
cal theories or his scientific statements and deductions.” 


273 


THE VIZIER OF THE 

“In all that time thee never married ?” asked Mrs. 
Crowder. 

Crowder and I could not help laughing. 

“I did not say so/’ said he, “but I will say that, 
with one exception, I do not remember any interest- 
ing matrimonial alliances which occurred during the 
period of my literary labors. I married a young 
woman of Rhodes, and gave her a very considerable 
establishment, which I was able to do, for Andronicus 
paid me much better than Herodotus had done ; but 
she did not prove a very suitable helpmeet, and I be- 
lieve she married me simply because I was in fairly 
good circumstances. She soon showed that she pre- 
ferred a young man to an elderly student, the greater 
part of whose time was occupied with books and manu- 
scripts, and we had not been married a year when she 
ran away with a young goldsmith, and disappeared 
from Rhodes, as I discovered, on a vessel bound for 
Rome. I resigned myself to my loss, and did not even 
try to obtain news of her. I was too much engrossed 
in my work to be interested in a runaway wife. 

“It was a little more than half a century after this 
that I was in Rome and sitting on the steps of one of 
the public buildings in the Forum. I was waiting to 
meet some one with whom I had business, and while 
I sat there an old woman stopped in front of me. She 
was evidently poor, and wretchedly dressed. Her 
scanty hair was gray, and her face was wrinkled and 
shrunken. I thought, of course, she was a beggar, and 
was about to give her something, when she clasped 
her hands in front of her and exclaimed, ‘ How like ! 
How like ! How like ! ’ 1 Like whom ? ’ said I. 

'What are you talking about?’ ‘Like your father,’ 
274 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


she said, ‘like your father ! You are so like him, you 
resemble him so much in form and feature, in the way 
you sit, in everything, that you must be his son ! ’ ‘I 
have no doubt I am my father’s son,’ said I, ‘and what 
do you know about him? ’ ‘I married him,’ she said. 
‘For nearly a year I was his wife, and then I foolishly 
ran away and left him. What became of him I know 
not, nor how long he lived, but he was a great deal 
older than I was, and must have passed away many 
years ago. But you are his image. He had the same 
ruddy face, the same short white hair, the same broad 
shoulders, the same way of crossing his legs as he sat. 
He must have married soon after I left him. Tell me, 
whom did he marry ? What was your mother’s name ? ’ 
I gave her the name of my real mother, and she shook 
her head. ‘ I never heard of her,’ she said. ‘ Did your 
father ever speak of me, a wife who ran away from 
him?’ ‘Yes,’ I answered; ‘he has spoken of you— 
that is, if you are Zalia, the daughter of an oil mer- 
chant of Rhodes ? ’ ‘I am that woman ! ’ she exclaimed, 
‘ I am that woman ! And did he mourn my loss ? ’ 
‘Not much, I think, not much.’ Then I became a 
little nervous, for if this old woman talked to me much 
longer I was afraid, in spite of the fact that I was an 
elderly man when she was a girl, that she would be- 
come convinced that I could not be the son of the man 
who had once been her husband, but must be that man 
himself. So I hastily excused myself on the plea of 
business, and after having given her some money I left 
her.” 

“And did thee never see her again? ” his wife asked, 
almost with tears in her eyes. 

“No, I never saw her again,” said Mr. Crowder ; “I 
275 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


was careful not to do that : but I did not neglect her ; 
I caused good care to be taken of her until she died.” 

There was a slight pause here, and then Mrs. Crow- 
der said : 

“Thee has known a great deal of poverty ; in nearly 
all thy stories thee is a poor man.” 

“There is good reason for that,” said Mr. Crowder. 
“Poor people frequently have more adventures, at 
least more interesting ones, than those who are in 
easy circumstances. Possession of money is apt to make 
life smoother and more commonplace ; so, in selecting 
the most interesting events of my career to tell you, I 
naturally describe periods of comparative poverty— 
and there were some periods in which I was in actual 
want of the necessaries of life. 

“But you must not suppose that I have always been 
poor. I have had my periods of wealth, but, as I ex- 
plained to you before, it was very difficult, on account 
of the frequent necessity of changing my place of 
residence, as well as my identity, to carry over my 
property from one set of conditions to another. How- 
ever, I have often been able to do this, and at one 
time I was in comfortable circumstances for nearly two 
hundred years. But generally, when I found myself 
obliged to leave a place where I had been living, for 
fear of suspicion concerning my age, I had to leave 
everything behind me. 

“I will tell you a little story about one of my at- 
tempts to provide for the future. It was toward the 
end of the fifteenth century, about the time that Co- 
lumbus set out on his first voyage of discovery,— and 
you would be surprised, considering the important 
results of his voyage, to know how little sensation it 
276 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


caused in Europe,— that I devised a scheme by which 
I thought I might establish for myself a permanent 
fortune. I was then living in Genoa, and was carry- 
ing on the same business in which I am now engaged. 
I was a broker, a dealer in money and commercial 
paper. I was prosperous and well able to carry out 
the plan I had formed. This plan was a simple one. 
I would purchase jewels, things easily carried about 
or concealed, and which would be valuable in any 
country or any age j and with this idea in my mind I 
spent many years in collecting valuable stones and 
jewels, confining myself generally to rings, for I wished 
to make the bulk of my treasures very small when 
compared with their value. 

“ About the middle of the sixteenth century I went 
to Rome, and took my jewels with me. They were 
then a wonderfully fine collection of gems, some of 
them of great antiquity and value ; for, in gradually 
gathering them together, the enthusiasm of the col- 
lector had possessed me, and I often travelled far to 
possess myself of a valuable jewel of which I had 
heard. I remained in Rome as long as I dared do so, 
and then prepared to set out for Egypt, which I had 
not visited for a long time, and where I expected to 
find interesting, though depressing, changes. I con- 
cluded, naturally enough, that it would be dangerous 
for me to take my treasures with me, and I could 
conceive of no place where it would be better to 
leave them than in the Eternal City. Rome was cen- 
tral and comparatively easy of access from any part 
of the world, and, moreover, was less liable to changes 
than any other place $ so I determined to leave my 
treasures in Rome, and to put them somewhere where 
277 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


they were not likely to be disturbed by the march of 
improvement, by the desolations of war and conquest, 
or to become lost to me by the action of nature. I 
decided to bury them in the catacombs. With these 
ancient excavations I was familiar, and I believed 
that in their dark and mysterious recesses I could 
conceal my jewels, and that I could find them again 
when I wanted them. 

“I procured a small box made of thick bronze, and 
in this I put all my rings and gems, and with them I 
enclosed several sheets of parchment, on which I had 
written, with the fine ink the monks used in engross- 
ing their manuscripts, a detailed description, and fre- 
quently a history, of every one of these valuable 
objects. Having securely fastened up the box, I con- 
cealed it in my clothing and then made my way to 
the catacombs. 

“It was a dark and rainy evening, and as the en- 
trances to the catacombs were not guarded in those 
days, it was not difficult for me to make my way un- 
seen into their interior. I had brought with me a 
tinder-box and several rushlights, and as soon as I felt 
secure from observation from the outside I struck a 
light and began my operations. Then, according to a 
plan I had previously made, I slowly walked along the 
solemn passageway which I had entered. 

“My plan of procedure was a very simple one, and 
I had purposely made it so in order that it might be 
more easily remembered. I was well acquainted with 
the position of the opening by which I had entered. 
For several days I had studied carefully its relation 
to other points in the surrounding country. Starting 
from this opening, my plan was to proceed inward 
278 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


through the long corridor until I came to a transverse 
passage ; to pass this until I reached another ; to pass 
this also, and to go on until I came to a third j then I 
would turn to my left and proceed until I had passed 
two other transverse passages and reached a third ; 
then I would again turn to my left and count the 
open tombs on my left hand. When I reached the 
third tomb I would stop. Thus there would be a 
series of three threes, and it was scarcely possible that 
I could forget that. 

“At this period a great many of the tombs were 
open, having been despoiled even of the few bones 
they contained. The opening at which I stopped was 
quite a large one, and when I put my light inside I 
found it was entirely empty. 

“Lighting another rush-candle, I stuck it in the 
bottom of the tomb, which was about four feet above 
the floor of the passage, and drawing my large dagger, 
I proceeded to dig a hole in the left-hand corner near- 
est the front. The earth was dry and free from stones, 
and I soon made a hole two feet deep, at the bottom 
of which I placed my box. Then I covered it up, 
pressing the earth firmly down into the hole. When 
this was entirely filled, I smoothed away the rest of 
the earth I had taken out, and after I finished my 
work, the floor of the tomb did not look as if it had 
been disturbed. Then I went away, reached the 
passage three tombs from me, turned to the right, 
went on until I reached the third transverse passage, 
then went on until I came to the entrance. It was rain- 
ing heavily, but I was glad to get out into the storm.” 

“Now, please hurry on,” said Mrs. Crowder. “When 
did thee get them again? ” 


279 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


“A great many things happened in Egypt,” said 
Mr. Crowder, “some pleasant and some unpleasant, 
and they kept me there a long time. After that I 
went to Constantinople, and subsequently resided in 
Greece and in Venice. I lived very comfortably dur- 
ing the greater part of this period, and therefore there 
was no particular reason why I should go after my 
jewels. So it happened that, for one cause or another, 
I did not go back to Rome until early in the nine- 
teenth century, and I need not assure you that almost 
the first place I visited was the catacombs. 

“After three hundred years of absence I found the 
entrance, but if I had not so well noted its position in 
relation to certain ruins and natural objects I should 
not have recognized it. It was not now a wide open- 
ing through which a man might walk ; it was a little 
hole scarcely big enough for a fox to crawl through ; 
in fact, I do not believe there would have been any 
opening there at all if it had not been for the small 
animals living in the catacombs, which had main- 
tained this opening for the purpose of going in and 
out. It was broad daylight when I found this en- 
trance. Of course I did not attempt to do anything 
then, but in the night, when there was no moon, I 
came with a spade. I enlarged the hole, crawled 
through, and after a time found myself in a passage- 
way which was unobstructed.” 

“Now, hurry on,” said Mrs. Crowder. 

“I brought no rushlights with me this time,” said 
Mr. Crowder. “I had a good lantern, and I walked 
steadily on until I came to the third transverse passage ; 
I turned to the left and counted three more passages j 
I turned to the left again ; I walked on slowly ; I ex- 
280 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

amined the left-hand wall, and apparently there were 
no open tombs. This startled me, but I soon found 
that I had been mistaken. I saw some tombs which 
were not open, but which had been opened and were 
now nearly filled with the dust of ages. I stopped 
before the first of these ; then I went on and clearly 
made out the position of another ; then I came to the 
third : that was really open, although the aperture 
was much smaller than it had been. It did not look 
as I remembered it, but without hesitation I took a 
trowel which I had brought with me, and began to 
dig in the nearest left-hand corner. 

“I dug and I dug until I had gone down more than 
two feet ; then I dug on and on until, standing in the 
passage as I was, I could not reach down any deeper 
into the hole I had made. So I crawled into the 
tomb, crouched down on my breast, and dug down 
and down as far as I could reach. 

“Then,” said Mr. Crowder, looking at us as he spoke r 
“I found the box.” 

A great sigh of relief came from Mrs. Crowder. 

“I was so afraid,” said she,— “I was so afraid it had 
sunk out of reach.” 

“No,” said he ; “its weight had probably made it 
settle down, and then the dust of ages, as I remarked 
before, had accumulated over it. That sort of thing 
is going on in Rome all the time. But I found my 
box, and, after hours and hours of wandering, I got 
out of the catacombs.” 

“How was that?” we both asked. 

“I was so excited at the recovery of my treasures 
after the lapse of three centuries that when I turned 
into the first passage I forgot to count those which 
281 


THE VIZIER OF ALEXANDER 

crossed it, and my mind became so thoroughly mixed 
up in regard to this labyrinth that I don’t know when 
I would have found my way out if I had not heard a 
little animal— I don’t know what it was— scurrying 
away in front of me. I followed it, and eventually 
saw a little speck of light. That proved to be the 
hole through which I had come in.” 

“What did thee do with the jewels?” asked Mrs. 
Crowder. 

Her husband looked at his watch, and then held it 
with the face toward her. 

She gave a cry of surprise, and we all went up stairs 
to bed. 


282 


y 

“Now, my dear,” said Mrs. Crowder, the moment we 
had finished dinner on the next evening, “I want thee 
to tell us immediately what thee did with the jewels. 
I have been thinking about that all day $ and I be- 
lieve, if I had been with thee, I could have given thee 
some good advice, so that the money thee received for 
those treasures would have lasted thee a long time.” 

“I have thought on that subject many times,” said 
Mr. Crowder, “not only in regard to this case, but 
others, and have formed hundreds of plans for carry- 
ing my possessions into another set of social condi- 
tions 5 but the fact of being obliged to change my 
identity always made it impossible for me to avail 
myself of the advantages of commercial paper, legal 
deeds, and all titles to property.” 

“Thee might have put thy wealth into solid gold— 
great bars and lumps. Those would be available in 
any country and in any age, and they wouldn’t have 
had anything to do with thy identity,” said his wife. 

“It was always difficult for me to carry about or 
even conceal such golden treasures, but I have some- 
times done it. However, as you are in such a hurry 
to hear about the jewels, I will let all other subjects 
drop. When I reached my lodgings in Rome. I opened 
283 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


the box, and found everything perfect j the writing on 
the sheets of parchment was still black and perfectly 
legible, and the jewels looked just as they did when I 
put them into the box.” 

“I cannot imagine,” interrupted Mrs. Crowder, 
“how thee remembered what they looked like after 
the lapse of three hundred years.” 

Mr. Crowder smiled. “You forget,” he said, “that 
since I first reached the age of fifty-three there has 
been no radical change in me, physical or mental. 
My memory is just as good now as it was when I 
reached my fifty-third birthday, in the days of Abra- 
ham. It is impossible for me to forget anything of 
importance, and I remembered perfectly the appear- 
ance of those gems. But my knowledge of such things 
had been greatly improved by time and experience, 
and after I had spent an hour or two looking over my 
treasures, I felt sure that they were far more valuable 
than they were when they came into my possession. 
In fact, it was a remarkable collection of precious 
stones, considering it in regard to its historic as well 
as its intrinsic value. 

“I shall not attempt to describe my various plans 
for disposing of my treasures ; but I soon found that it 
would not be wise for me to try to sell them in Rome. 
I had picked out one of the least valuable engraved 
stones, and had taken it to a lapidary, who readily 
bought it at his own valuation, and paid me with 
great promptness j but after he had secured it he asked 
me so many questions about it, particularly how I had 
come into possession of it, that I was very sure he 
had made a wonderful bargain, and was also convinced 
that it would not do for me to take any more of my 
284 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


gems to him. Those Roman experts knew too much 
about antique jewels. 

“I went to Naples, where I had a similar experi- 
ence. Then I found it would be well for me, if I did 
not wish to be arrested as a thief who had robbed a 
museum, to endeavor to sell my collection as a whole 
in some other country. As a professional dealer in 
gems from a foreign land I would be less liable to sus- 
picion than if I endeavored to peddle my jewels one 
at a time. So I determined to go to Madrid and try 
to sell my collection there. 

“When I reached Spain I found the country in a 
great turmoil. This was in 1808, when Napoleon was 
on the point of invading Spain ; but as politicians, 
statesmen, and military men were not in the habit of 
buying ancient gems, I still hoped that I might be 
able to transact the business which had brought me to 
the country. My collection would be as valuable to 
a museum then as at any time, for it was not supposed 
that the French were coming into the country to ravage 
and destroy the great institutions of learning and art. 
I made acquaintances in Madrid, and before long I 
had an opportunity of exhibiting my collection to a 
well-known dealer and connoisseur, who was ac- 
quainted with the officers of the Royal Museum. I 
thought it would be well to sell them through his 
agency, even though I paid him a high commission. 

“If I should say that this man was astounded as well 
as delighted when he saw my collection, I should be 
using very feeble expressions; for, carried away by 
his enthusiasm, he did not hesitate to say to me that 
it was the most valuable collection he had ever seen. 
Even if the stones had been worthless in themselves, 
285 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


their historic value was very great. Of course he 
wanted to know where I had obtained these treasures, 
and I informed him truthfully that I had travelled far 
and wide in order to gather them together. I told 
him the history of many of them, but entirely omitted 
mentioning anything which would give a clew to the 
times and periods when I had come into possession of 
them. 

“This dealer undertook the sale of my jewels. We 
arranged them in a handsome box lined with velvet 
and divided into compartments, and I made a cata- 
logue of them, copied from my ancient parchments— 
which would have ruined me had I inadvertently 
allowed them to be seen. He put himself into com- 
munication with the officers of the museum, and I left 
the matter entirely in his hands. 

“In less than a week I became aware that I was an 
object of suspicion. I called on the dealer, but he 
was not to be seen. I found that I was shadowed by 
officers of the law. I wrote to the dealer, but received 
no answer. One evening, when I returned to my 
lodgings, I found that they had been thoroughly 
searched. I became alarmed, and the conviction 
forced itself upon me that the sooner I should escape 
from Madrid, the better for me .’ 7 

“What ! 77 exclaimed Mrs. Crowder, “and leave thy 
jewels behind? Thee certainly did not do that ! 77 

“Ah, my dear , 77 replied her husband, “you do not 
comprehend the situation. It was very plain that the 
authorities of the museum did not believe that a pri- 
vate individual, a stranger, was likely to be the le- 
gitimate owner of these treasures. Had my case been 
286 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


an ordinary one I should have courted investigation j 
but how could I prove that I had been an honest man 
three hundred years before? A legal examination, 
not so much on account of the jewels, but because of 
the necessary assertion of my age, would have been a 
terrible ordeal. 

“I hurried to the dealer’s shop, but found it closed. 
Inquiring of a woman on a neighboring door-step, I 
was informed that the dealer had been arrested. I 
asked no more. I did not return to my lodgings, and 
that night I left Madrid.” 

I could not repress an exclamation of distress, and 
Mrs. Crowder cried : “Did thee really go away and 
leave thy jewels? Such a thing is too dreadful to 
think of. But perhaps thee got them again ? ” 

“No,” said Mr. Crowder, “I never saw them again, 
nor ever heard of them. But now that it is impossible 
for any one to be living who might recognize me, I 
hope to go to Madrid and see those gems. I have no 
doubt that they are in the museum.” 

“And I,” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder,— “I shall go with 
thee. I shall see them.” 

“Indeed you shall,” said her husband, taking her 
affectionately by the hand. And then he turned to 
me. “You may think,” said he, “that I was too timid, 
that I was too ready to run away from danger ; but it 
is hard for any one but myself readily to appreciate 
my horror of a sentence to imprisonment or convict 
labor for life.” 

“Oh, horrible ! ” said his wife, with tears in her eyes. 
“Then thee would have despaired indeed.” 

“No,” said he. “I should not even have had that 
287 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


consolation. Despair is a welcome to death. A man 
who cannot die cannot truly despair. But do not let 
us talk upon such a melancholy subject.” 

“No, no,” cried Mrs. Crowder. “I am glad thee 
left those wretched jewels behind thee. And thee got 
away safely?” 

“Oh, yes ; I had some money left. I travelled by 
night and concealed myself by day, and so got out of 
Spain. Soon after I crossed the Pyrenees I found 
myself penniless, and was obliged to work my way.” 

“Poverty again ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder. “It is 
dreadful to hear so much of it. If thee could only 
have carried away with thee one of thy diamonds, 
thee might have cracked it up into little pieces, and 
thee might have sold these, one at a time, without 
suspicion.” 

“I never thought of being a vender of broken dia- 
monds, and there is nothing suspicious about honest 
labor. The object of my present endeavors was to 
reach England, and I journeyed northward. It was 
nearly a month after I had entered France that I was 
at a little village on the Garonne, repairing a stone 
wall which divided a field from the road, and I assure 
you I was very glad to get this job. 

“It was here that I heard of the near approach of 
Napoleon’s army on its march into Spain $ that the 
news was true was quickly proved, for very soon after 
I had begun my work on the wall the country to the 
north seemed to be filled with cavalry, infantry, artil- 
lery, baggage-wagons, and everything that pertained 
to an army. About noon there was a general halt, and 
in the field the wall of which I was repairing a body 
of officers made a temporary encampment. 

288 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“I Paid as little apparent attention as possible to 
what was going on around me, but proceeded stead- 
ily with my work, although I assure you I had my 
eyes wide open all the time. I was thinking of stop- 
ping work in order to eat my dinner, which I had with 
me, when a party of officers approached me on their 
way to a little hill in the field. One of them stopped 
and spoke to me, and as he did so the others halted and 
stood together a little way off. The moment I looked 
at the person who addressed me I knew him. It was 
Napoleon Bonaparte.” 

“Then thee has seen the great Napoleon,” almost 
whispered Mrs. Crowder. 

“And very much disappointed I was when I beheld 
him,” remarked her husband. “I had seen portraits 
of him, I had read and heard of his great achieve- 
ments, and I had pictured to myself a hero. Perhaps 
my experience should have taught me that heroes 
seldom look like heroes, but for all that I had had 
my ideal, and in appearance this man fell below it. 
His face was of an olive color which was unequally 
distributed over his features ; he was inclined to be 
pudgy, and his clothes did not appear to fit him ; but 
for all that he had the air of a man who with piercing 
eyes saw his way before him and did not flinch from 
taking it, rough as it might be. ‘You seem an old 
man for such work/ said he, ‘but if you are strong 
enough to lift those stones why are you not in the 
army ? 7 As he spoke I noticed that he had not the 
intonation of a true Frenchman. He had the accent 
of the foreigner that he was. 

“‘Sire/ said I, ‘I am too old for the army, but in 
spite of my age I must earn my bread . 7 I may state 
289 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


here that my hair and heard had been growing since 
I left Madrid. For a moment the emperor regarded 
me in silence. ‘Are you a Frenchman ? 7 said he. 
‘You speak too well for a stone-mason, and, moreover, 
your speech is that of a foreigner who has studied 
French . 7 It was odd that each of us should have re- 
marked the accent of the other, but I was not amused 
at this ; I was becoming very nervous. ‘Sire , 7 said I, 
‘I come from Italy . 7 ‘Were you born there ? 7 asked 
he. My nervousness increased $ this man was too 
keen a questioner. ‘Sire , 7 I replied, ‘I was born in 
the country southeast of Rome . 7 This was true 
enough, but it was a long way southeast. ‘Do you 
speak Spanish ? 7 he abruptly asked. 

“At this question my blood ran cold. I had had 
enough of speaking Spanish. I was trying to get away 
from Spain and everything that belonged to that 
country ; but I thought it safest to speak the truth, 
and I answered that I understood the language. The 
emperor now beckoned to one of his officers, and 
ordered him to talk with me in Spanish. I had been 
in Spain in the early part of the preceding century, 
and I had there learned to speak the pure Castilian 
tongue, so that when the officer talked with me I 
could see that he was surprised, and presently he told 
the emperor that he had never heard any one who 
spoke such excellent Spanish. The emperor fixed his 
eyes upon me. ‘You must have travelled a great 
deal , 7 he said. ‘You should not be wasting your time 
with stones and mortar . 7 Then, turning to the officer 
who had spoken to me, he said, ‘ He understands Span- 
ish so well that we may make him useful . 7 He was 
about to address me again, but was interrupted by the 
290 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


arrival of an orderly with a despatch. This he read 
hastily, and walked toward the officers who were 
waiting for him $ but before he left me he ordered me 
to report myself at his tent, which was not far off in 
the field. He then walked away, evidently discussing 
the despatch, which he still held open in his hand. 

“Now I was again plunged into the deepest appre- 
hension and fear. I did not want to go back to Spain, 
not knowing what might happen to me there. Every 
evil thing was possible. I might be recognized, and 
the emperor might not care to shield any one claimed 
by the law as an escaped thief. In an instant I saw 
all sorts of dreadful possibilities. I determined to take 
no chances. The moment the emperor’s back was 
turned upon me I got over the broken part of the wall 
and, interfered with by no one, passed quietly along 
the road to the house of the man who had employed 
me to do his mason- work, and seeing no one there,— 
for every window and door was tightly closed,— I 
walked into the yard and went to the well, which was 
concealed from the road by some shrubbery. I looked 
quickly about, and perceiving that I was not in sight 
of any one, I got into the well and went down to the 
bottom, assisting my descent by the well-rope. The 
water was about five feet deep, and when I first en- 
tered it, it chilled me ; but nothing could chill me so 
much as the thought that I might be taken back into 
Spain, no matter by whom or for what. I must admit 
that I was doing then, and often had done, that which 
seemed very much like cowardice ; but people who 
can die cannot understand the fear which may come 
upon a person who has not that refuge from misfor- 
tune. 


291 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


“For the rest of the day I remained in the well, and 
when people came to draw water — and this happened 
many times in the course of the afternoon — I crouched 
down as much as I could ; but at such times I would 
have been concealed by the descending bucket, even 
if any one had chosen to look down the well. This 
bucket was a heavy one with iron hoops, and I had a 
great deal of trouble sometimes to shield my head 
from it.” 

“I should think thee would have taken thy death 
of cold,” said Mrs. Crowder, “staying in that cold well 
the whole afternoon.” 

“No,” said her husband, with a smile ; “I was not 
afraid of that. If I should have taken cold I knew it 
would not be fatal, and although the water chilled me 
at first, I became used to it. An hour or two after 
nightfall I clambered up the well-rope, — and it was not 
an easy thing, for although not stout, I am a heavy 
man,— and I got away over the fields with all the 
rapidity possible. I did not look back to see if the 
army were still on the road, nor did I ever know 
whether I had been searched for or had been forgotten. 

“I shall not describe the rest of my journey. There 
was nothing remarkable about it except that it was 
beset with many hardships. I made my way into 
Switzerland and so on down the Rhine, and it was 
nearly seven months after I left Madrid before I 
reached England. 

“I remained many years in Great Britain, living 
here and there, and was greatly interested in the 
changes and improvements I saw around me. You 
can easily understand this when I tell you it was in 
1512, twenty years after the discovery of America, 
292 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

that I had last been in England. I do not believe 
that in any other part of the world the changes in 
three hundred years could have been more marked 
and impressive. 

“I bad never visited Ireland, and as I had a great 
desire to see that country, I made my way there as 
soon as possible, and after visiting the most noted 
spots of the island I settled down to work as a gar- 
dener.” 

“ Always poor,” ejaculated Mrs. Crowder, with a 
sigh. 

“No, not always,” answered her husband. “But 
wandering sight seers cannot be expected to make 
much money. At this time I was very glad indeed to 
cease from roving and enjoy the comforts of a home, 
even though it were a humble one. The family with 
whom I took service was that of Maria Edgeworth, 
who lived with her father in Edgeworthstown.” 

“What!” cried Mrs. Crowder, “‘Lazy Lawrence/ 
‘ Simple Susan/ and all the rest of them ? Was it that 
Miss Edgeworth ? ” 

“Certainly,” said he. “There never was but one 
Maria Edgeworth, and I don’t think there ever will 
be another. I soon became very well acquainted with 
Miss Edgeworth. Her father was a studious man and 
a magistrate. He paid very little attention to the 
house and garden, the latter of which was almost en- 
tirely under the charge of his daughter Maria. She 
used to come out among the flower-beds and talk to 
me, and as my varied experience enabled me to tell 
her a great deal about fruits, flowers, and vegetables, 
she became more and more interested in what I had 
to tell her. She was a plain, sensible woman, anxious 
293 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


for information, and she lived in a very quiet neigh- 
borhood where she did not often have opportunities of 
meeting persons of intelligence and information. But 
when she found out that I could tell her so many 
things, not only about plants but about the countries 
where I had known them, she would sometimes spend 
an hour or two with me, taking notes of what I 
said. 

“ During the time that I was her gardener she wrote 
the story of ‘ The Little Merchants,’ and as she did not 
know very much about Italy and Naples, I gave her 
most of the points for that highly moral story. She told 
me, in fact, that she did not believe she could have 
written it had it not been for my assistance. She 
thought well to begin the story by giving some explana- 
tory ‘ Extracts from a Traveller’s Journal’ relative 
to Italian customs, but afterwards she depended 
entirely on me for all points concerning distinc- 
tive national characteristics and the general Italian 
atmosphere. As she became aware that I was an edu- 
cated man and had travelled in many countries, she 
was curious about my antecedents, but of course my 
remarks in that direction were very guarded. 

“One day, as she was standing looking at me as I 
was pruning a rose-bush, she made a remark which 
startled me. I perfectly remember her words. ‘It 
seems to me,’ she said, ‘that one who is so constantly 
engaged in observing and encouraging the growth 
and development of plants should himself grow and 
develop. Roses of one year are generally better than 
those of the year before. Then why is not the gar- 
dener better?’ To these words she immediately 
added, being a woman of kind impulses, ‘ But in the 
294 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


case of a good gardener, such as you are, I’ve no doubt 
he does grow better, year by year.’ 77 

“What was there startling in that little speech ? 77 
asked Mrs. Crowder. “I don’t think she could have 
said anything less . 77 

“I will tell you why I was startled , 77 said her hus- 
band. “Almost those very words— mark me, almost 
those very words— had been said to me when I was 
working in the wonderful gardens of Nebuchadnezzar, 
and he was standing by me watching me prune a rose- 
bush. That Maria Edgeworth and the great Nebu- 
chadnezzar should have said the same thing to me 
was enough to startle me . 77 

To this astounding statement Mrs. Crowder and I 
listened with wide-open eyes. 

“Yes , 77 said Mr. Crowder. “You may think it 
amazing that a very ordinary remark should connect 
‘ The Parents 7 Assistant 7 with the city of Babylon, but 
so it was. In the course of my life I have noticed 
coincidences quite as strange. 

“I spent many years in the city of Babylon, but the 
wonderful Hanging Gardens interested me more than 
anything else the great city contained. At the time 
of which I have just spoken I was one of Nebuchad- 
nezzar’s gardeners, but not in the humble position 
which I afterwards filled in Ireland. I had under my 
orders fifteen slaves, and my principal duty was to 
direct the labors of these poor men. These charming 
gardens, resting upon arches high above the surface of 
the ground, watered by means of pipes from the river 
Euphrates, and filled with the choicest flowers, shrubs, 
and plants known to the civilization of the time, were 
a ceaseless source of delight to me. Often, when I 
295 


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had finished the daily work assigned to me and my 
men, I would wander over other parts of the garden 
and enjoy its rare beauties. 

“I frequently met Nebuchadnezzar, who for the 
time enjoyed his gardens almost as much as I did. 
When relieved from the cares of state and his ambi- 
tious plans, and while walking in the winding paths 
among sparkling fountains and the fragrant flower- 
beds, he seemed like a very ordinary man, quiet and 
reflective, with very good ideas concerning nature and 
architecture. The latter I learned from his frequent 
remarks to me. I suppose it was because I appeared 
to be so much older and more experienced than most 
of those who composed his little army of gardeners 
that he often addressed me, asking questions and mak- 
ing suggestions ; and it was one afternoon, standing by 
me as I was at work in a rose-bed, that he said the 
words which were spoken to me about twenty-four 
centuries afterwards by Maria Edgeworth. Now, 
wasn’t that enough to startle a man!” 

“ Startle ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder. “I should have 
screamed. I should have thought that some one had 
come from the dead to speak to me. But I suppose 
there was nothing about Maria Edgeworth which re- 
minded thee of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.” 

“Yes, there was,” replied her husband : “ there was 
the same meditative expression of the eyes ; the same 
reflective mood as each one began to speak, as if he 
and she were merely thinking aloud $ the same quick, 
kind reference to me, as if the speaker feared that my 
feelings might have been hurt by a presumption that 
I myself had not developed and improved. 

“I had good reason to remember those words of 
296 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

Nebuchadnezzar, for they were the last I ever heard 
him speak. A few days afterwards I was informed by 
the chief gardener that the king was about to make a 
journey across the mountains into Media, and that he 
intended to establish there what would now be called 
an experimental garden of horticulture, which was to 
be devoted to growing and improving certain orna- 
mental trees which did not flourish in the Hanging 
Gardens of Babylon. His expedition was not to be 
undertaken entirely for this purpose, but he was a 
man who did a great many things at once, and the 
establishment of these experimental grounds was only 
one of the objects of his journey. 

“The chief gardener then went on to say that the 
king had spoken to him about me and had said that 
he would take me with him and perhaps put me in 
charge of the new gardens. 

“This mark of royal favor did not please me at all. 
I had hoped that I might ultimately become the 
chief of the Babylonian gardens, and this would have 
suited me admirably. It was a position of profit and 
some honor, and when I thought that I had lived long 
enough in that part of the world it would have been 
easy for me to make a journey into the surrounding 
country on some errand connected with the business 
of the gardens, and then quietly to disappear. But if 
I were to be taken into Media it might not be easy 
for me to get away. Therefore I did not wait to see 
Nebuchadnezzar again and receive embarrassing royal 
commands, but I went to my home that night, and 
returned no more to the wonderful Hanging Gardens 
of Babylon.” 

“I think thee was a great deal better off in the gar- 
297 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


den of Maria Edgeworth/’ said Mrs. Crowder, “for there 
thee could come and go as thee pleased, and it almost 
makes my flesh creep when I think of thee living in 
company with the bloody tyrants of the past. And 
always in poverty and suffering, as if thee had been 
one of the common people, and not the superior of 
every man around thee ! I don’t want to hear any- 
thing more about the wicked Nebuchadnezzar. How 
long did thee stay with Maria Edgeworth I ” 

“About four years,” he replied. “And I might have 
remained much longer, for in that quiet life the ad- 
vance of one’s years was not likely to be noticed. I 
am sure Miss Edgeworth looked no older to me when 
I left her than when I first saw her. But she was 
obliged to go into England to nurse her sick step- 
mother, and after her departure the place had no at- 
tractions for me, and I left Ireland.” 

“I wonder,” said Mrs. Crowder, a little maliciously, 
“that thee did not marry her.” 

Her husband laughed. 

“Englishwomen of her rank in society do not marry 
their gardeners, and, besides, in any case, she would 
not have suited me for a wife. For one reason, she 
was too homely.” 

“Oh,” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder, and she might have 
said more, but her husband did not give her a 
chance. 

“I know I have talked a great deal about my days 
of poverty and misery, and now I will tell you some- 
thing different. For a time I was the ruler of all the 
Russias.” 

“Ruler ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder and I, almost in 
the same breath. 


298 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


"Yes,” said he, “absolute ruler. And this was the 
way of it : 

“I was in Russia in the latter part of the seven- 
teenth century, at a time when there was great excite- 
ment in royal and political circles. The young czar 
Feodor had recently died, and he had named as his 
successor his half-brother Peter, a boy ten years of 
age, who afterwards became Peter the Great. The 
late czar’s young brother Ivan should have succeeded 
him, but he was almost an idiot. In this complicated 
state of things, the half-sister of Peter, the Princess 
Sophia, a young woman of wonderful ambition and 
really great abilities, rose to the occasion. She fo- 
mented a revolution ; there was fighting, with all sorts 
of cruelties and horrors, and when affairs had quieted 
down she was princess regent, while the two boys, 
Ivan and Peter, were waiting to see what would 
happen next. 

“She was really a woman admirably adapted to her 
position. She was well educated, wrote poetry, and 
knew how to play her part in public affairs. She 
presided in the councils, and her authority was with- 
out control ; but she was just as bloody-minded and 
cruel as anybody else in Russia. 

“Now, it so happened when the Princess Sophia was 
at the height of her power, that I was her secretary. 
For five or six years I had been a teacher of languages 
in Moscow, and at one time I had given lessons to the 
princess. In this way she had become well acquainted 
with me, and having frequently called upon me for 
information of one sort or another, she concluded to 
make me her secretary. Thus I was established at 
the court of Russia. I had charge of all Sophia’s 
299 


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public papers, and I often had a good deal to do with 
her private correspondence, blit she signed and sealed 
all papers of importance. 

“The Prince Galitzin, who had been her father’s 
minister and was now Sophia’s main supporter in all 
her autocratic designs and actions, found himself 
obliged to leave Moscow to attend to his private affairs 
on his great estates, and to be absent for more than a 
month ; and after his departure the princess depended 
on me more than ever. Like many women in high 
positions, it was absolutely necessary for her to have 
a man on whom she could lean with one hand while 
she directed her affairs with the other.” 

“I do not think that is always necessary,” said Mrs. 
Crowder, “at least, in these days.” 

“Perhaps not,” said her husband, with a smile, “but 
it was then. But I must get on with my story. One 
morning soon after Galitzin’s departure, the horses 
attached to the royal sledge ran away just outside of 
Moscow. The princess was thrown out upon the hard 
ground, and badly dislocated her right wrist. By the 
time she had been taken back to the palace her arm 
and hand were dreadfully swollen, and it was difficult 
for her surgeons to do anything for her. 

“I was called into the princess’s room just after the 
three surgeons had been sent to prison. I found her 
in great trouble, mental as well as physical, and her 
principal anxiety was that she was afraid it would be 
a long time before she would be able to use her hand 
and sign and seal the royal acts and decrees. She had 
a certain superstition about this which greatly agitated 
her. If she could not sign and seal, she did not be- 
lieve she would be able to rule. Any one who under- 
300 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


stood the nature of the political factions in Russia well 
knew that an uprising among the nobles might occur 
upon any pretext, and no pretext could be so powerful 
as the suspicion of incompetency in the sovereign. 
The seat of a ruler who did not rule was extremely 
uncertain. 

“At that moment a paper of no great importance, 
which had been sent in to her before she went out in 
her sledge that morning, was lying on the table near 
her couch, and she was greatly worried because she 
could not sign it. I assured her she need not trouble 
herself about it, for I could attend to it. I had 
often affixed her initials and seal to unimportant 
papers. 

“The princess did not object to my proposition, but 
this was not enough for her. She had a deep mind, 
and she quickly concocted a scheme by which her 
public business should be attended to, while at the 
same time it should not be known that she did not 
attend to it. She caused it to be given out that it 
was her ankle which had been injured, and not her 
wrist. She sent for another surgeon, and had him 
locked up in the palace when he was not attending 
to her, so that he should tell no tales. Her ladies 
were informed that it would be very well for them to 
keep silent, and they understood her. Then she ar- 
ranged with me that all public business should be 
brought to her ; that I should sign and seal in her 
place, and should be her agent of communication with 
the court. 

“When this plan had been settled upon, the prin- 
cess regained something of her usual good spirits. 
‘As I never sign my name with my toes/ she said to 
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THE VIZIER OF THE 


me, There is no reason why a sprained ankle should 
interfere with my royal functions, and, for the present, 
you can be my right hand.’ 

“This was a very fine plan, but it did not work as 
she expected it would. Her wrist became more and 
more painful, and fever set in, and on the second day, 
when I called upon her, I found she was in no condi- 
tion to attend to business. She was irritable and 
drowsy. ‘ Don’t annoy me with that paper,’ she said. 
‘If the wool-dealers ought to have their taxes in- 
creased, increase them. You should not bring these 
trifles to me ; but’— and now she regained for a mo- 
ment her old acuteness— ‘ remember this : don’t let my 
administration stop.’ 

“I understood her very well, and when I left her I 
saw my course plain before me. It was absolutely 
necessary that the exercise of royal functions by the 
Princess Sophia should appear to go on in its usual 
way ; any stoppage would be a signal for a revolution. 
In order that this plan should be carried out, I must 
act for the princess regent ; I must do what I thought 
right, and it must be done in her name, exactly as 
if she had ordered it. I assumed the responsibility 
without hesitation. While it was supposed I was 
merely the private secretary of the princess, acting 
as her agent and mouthpiece, I was in fact the ruler 
of all the Russias.” 

Mrs. Crowder opened her mouth as if she would 
gasp for breath, but she did not say anything. 

“You can scarcely imagine, my dear,” said he, “the 
delight with which I assumed the powers so suddenly 
thrust upon me. I set myself to work without delay, 
and, as I knew all about the wool -dealers’ business, I 
302 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

issued a royal decree decreasing their taxes. Poor 
creatures ! they were suffering enough already.’’ 

“Good for thee ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder. 

“I cannot tell you of all the reforms I devised, or 
even those which I carried out. I knew that the fever 
of the princess, aggravated by the inflammation of her 
dislocated wrist, would continue for some time, and I 
bent all my energies to the work of doing as much 
good as I could in the vast empire under my control 
while I had the opportunity. And it was a great op- 
portunity, indeed ! I did not want to do anything so 
radical as to arouse the opposition of the court, and 
therefore I directed my principal efforts to the amel- 
ioration of the condition of the people in the prov- 
inces. It would be a long time before word could 
get back to the capital of what I had done in those 
distant regions. By night and by day my couriers 
were galloping in every direction, carrying good news 
to the peasants of Russia. It was remarked by some 
of the councillors, when they spoke of the municipal 
reforms I instituted, that the princess seemed to be in 
a very humane state of mind ; but none of them cared 
to interfere with what they supposed to be the sick- 
bed workings of her conscience. So I ruled with a 
high hand, astonishing the provincial officials, and 
causing thousands of down- trodden subjects to begin 
to believe that perhaps they were really human beings, 
with some claim on royal justice and kindness. 

“I fairly revelled in my imperial power, but I never 
forgot to be prudent. I lessened the duties and 
slightly increased the pay of the military regiments 
stationed in and about Moscow, and thus the Princess 
Sophia became very popular with the army, and I felt 
303 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


safe. I went in to see the princess every day, and 
several times when she was in her right mind she asked 
me if everything was going on well, and once when I 
assured her that all was progressing quietly and satis- 
factorily, she actually thanked me. This was a good 
deal for a Russian princess. If she had known how 
the people were thanking her , I do not know what 
would have happened. 

“For twenty-one days I reigned over Russia. If I 
had been able to do it, I should have made each day 
a year $ I felt that I was in my proper place.” 

“Thee was right,” said Mrs. Crowder, her eyes spar- 
kling. “I believe that at that time thee was the 
only monarch in the world who was worthy to reign.” 
And with a loyal pride, as if he had just stepped from 
a throne, she put her hand upon his arm. 

“Yes,” said Mr. Crowder, “I honestly believe that 
I was a good monarch, and I will admit that in those 
days such personages were extremely scarce. So my 
imperial sway proceeded with no obstruction until I 
was informed that Prince Galitzin was hastening to 
Moscow, on his return from his estates, and was then 
within three days’ journey of the capital. Now I 
prepared to lay down the tremendous power which 
I had wielded with such immense satisfaction to my- 
self, and with such benefit, I do not hesitate to say, to 
the people of Russia. The effects of my rule are still 
to be perceived in some of the provinces of Russia, and 
decrees I made more than two hundred years ago are 
in force in many villages along the eastern side of the 
Volga. 

“The day before Prince Galitzin was expected, I 
visited Sophia for the last time. She was a great deal 
304 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

better, and much pleased by the expected arrival of 
her minister. She even gave me some commands, but 
when I left her I did not execute them. I would not 
have my reign sullied by any of her mandates. That 
afternoon, in a royal sledge, with the royal permission, 
given by myself, to travel where and how I pleased, I 
left Moscow. Frequent relays of horses carried me 
rapidly beyond danger of pursuit, and so, in course of 
time, I passed the boundaries of the empire of Russia, 
over which for three weeks I had ruled, an absolute 
autocrat.” 

“Does thee know,” said Mrs. Crowder, “that two or 
three times I expected thee to say that thee married 
Sophia? ” 

Mr. Crowder laughed. “That is truly a wild no- 
tion,” said he. 

“I don’t think it is wild at all,” she replied. “In 
the course of thy life thee has married a great many 
plain persons. In some ways that princess would have 
suited thee as a wife, and if thee had really married 
her and had become her royal consort, like Prince 
Albert, thee might have made a great change in her. 
But, after all, it would have been a pity to interfere 
with the reign of Peter the Great.” 


305 


VI 

“What did thee do after thee got out of Russia ?” 
asked Mrs. Crowder, the next evening. 

Her husband shook his head. “No, no, my dear ; 
we can’t go on with my autobiography in that fashion. 
If I should take up my life step by step, there would 
not be time enough—” There he stopped, but I am 
sure we both understood his meaning. There would 
be plenty of time for him ! 

“Often and often,” said Mr. Crowder, after a few 
minutes’ silence, “have I determined to adopt some 
particular profession, and continue its practice wher- 
ever I might find myself ; but in this I did not succeed 
very well. Frequently I was a teacher, but not for 
many consecutive years. Something or other was sure 
to happen to turn my energies into other channels.” 

“Such as falling in love with thy scholars,” said his 
wife. 

“You have a good memory,” he replied. “That 
sometimes happened ; but there were other reasons 
which turned me away from the paths of the peda- 
gogue. With my widely extended opportunities, I 
naturally came to know a good deal of medicine and 
surgery. Frequently I had been a doctor in spite of 
myself, and as far back as the days of the patriarchs I 
306 


THE VIZIER OF ALEXANDER 


was called upon to render aid to sick and ailing 
people. 

“In the days when I lived in a cave and gained a 
reputation as a wise and holy hermit, more people 
came to me to get relief from bodily ailments than 
to ask for spiritual counsel. You will remember I 
told you that I was visited at that time by Moses and 
Joshua. Moses came, I truly believe, on account of 
his desire to become acquainted with the prophet El 
Kroudhr, of whom he had heard so much ; but Joshua 
wanted to see me for an entirely different reason. 
The two remained with me for about an hour, and 
although Moses had no belief in me as a prophet, he 
asked me a great many questions, and I am sure I 
proved to him that I was a man of a great deal of 
information. He had a keen mind, with a quick per- 
ception of the motives of others, and in every way was 
well adapted to be a leader of men. 

“When Moses had gone away to a tent about a mile 
distant, where he intended to spend the night, Joshua 
remained, and as soon as his uncle was out of sight, he 
told me why he wished to see me.” 

“His uncle ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder. 

“Certainly,” said her husband. “Joshua was the 
son of Nun and of Miriam, and Miriam was the sister 
of Moses and Aaron. What he now wanted from me 
was medical advice. For some time he had been 
afflicted with rheumatism in his left leg, which came 
upon him after exposure to the damp and cold. 

“Now, this was a very important thing to Joshua. 
He was a great favorite with Moses, who intended 
him, as we all know, to be his successor as leader of the 
people and of the army. Joshua was essentially a 
307 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


soldier ; he was quiet, brave, and a good disciplinarian j 
in fact, he had all the qualities needed for the position 
he expected to fill : but he was not young, and if he 
should become subject to frequent attacks of rheuma- 
tism, it was not likely that Moses, who had very rigid 
ideas of his duties to his people, would be willing to 
place at their head a man who might at any time be 
incapacitated from taking his proper place on the 
field of battle. So Joshua had never mentioned his 
ailment to his uncle, hoping that he might be relieved 
of it, and having heard that I was skilled in such mat- 
ters, he now wished my advice. 

“I soon found that his ailment was a very ordinary 
one, which might easily be kept under control, if not 
cured, and I proceeded at once to apply remedies. I 
will just mention that in those days remedies were 
generally heroic, and I think you will agree with me 
when I tell you how I treated Joshua. I first rubbed 
his aching muscles with fine sand, keeping up a fric- 
tion until his skin was in a beautiful glow. Then I 
brought out from the back part of my cave, where I 
kept my medicines, ajar containing a liniment which 
I had made for such purposes. It was composed of oil in 
which had been steeped the bruised fruit or pods of a 
plant very much resembling the Tabasco pepper-plant.” 

“ Whoop ! ” I exclaimed involuntarily. 

“Yes,” said Mr. Crowder, “and Joshua ‘ whooped/ 
too. But it was a grand liniment, especially when 
applied upon skin already excited by rubbing with 
sand. He jumped at first, but he was a soldier, and 
he bore the application bravely. 

“I saw him again the next day, and he assured me 
with genuine pleasure that every trace of the rheuma- 
308 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


tism had disappeared. I gave him some of my lini- 
ment, and also showed him some of the little pepper 
pods, so that he might procure them at any time in 
the future when he should need them. 

“It was more than twenty years after this that I 
again met Joshua. He was then an elderly man, hut 
still a vigorous soldier. He assured me that he had 
used my remedy whenever he had felt the least twinges 
of rheumatism, and that the disease had never inter- 
fered with the performance of his military duties. 

“He was much surprised to see that I looked no 
older than when he had met me before. He was 
greatly impressed by this, and talked a good deal 
about it. He told me he considered himself under 
the greatest obligation to me for what I had done for 
him, and as he spoke I could see that a hope was 
growing within him that perhaps I might do some- 
thing more. He presently spoke out boldly, and said 
to me that as my knowledge of medicine had enabled 
me to keep myself from growing old, perhaps I could 
do the same thing for him. Few men had greater 
need of protecting themselves against the advance 
of old age. His work was not done, and years of 
bodily strength were necessary to enable him to 
finish it. 

“But I could do nothing for Joshua in this respect. 
I assured him that my apparent exemption from the 
effects of passing years was perfectly natural, and was 
not due to drugs or medicaments. 

“Joshua lived many years after that day, and did a 
good deal of excellent military work ; but his life was 
not long enough to satisfy him. He fell sick, was 
obliged to give up his command to his relative Caleb, 
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and finally died, in his one hundred and twenty-eighth 
year.” 

“Which ought to have satisfied him, I should say,” 
said Mrs. Crowder. 

“I have never yet met a thoroughbred worker,” 
said Mr. Crowder, “who was satisfied to stop his work 
before he had finished it, no matter how old he might 
happen to be. But my last meeting with Joshua 
taught me a lesson which in those days had not been 
sufficiently impressed upon my mind. I became con- 
vinced that I must not allow people to think that I 
could live along for twenty years or more without 
growing older, and after that I gave this matter a 
great deal more attention than I had yet bestowed 
upon it.” 

“It is a pity,” said Mrs. Crowder, “that thy life 
should have been marred by such constant anxiety.” 

“Yes,” said he. “But this is a suspicious world, and 
it is dangerous for a man to set himself apart from his 
fellow-beings, especially if he does it in some unusual 
fashion which people cannot understand.” 

“But I hope now,” said his wife, “that those days 
of suspicion are entirely past.” 

The conversation was getting somewhat awkward ; 
it could not be pleasant for any one of us to talk about 
what the world of the future might think of Mr. 
Crowder when it came to know all about him, and 
appreciating this, my host quickly changed the sub- 
ject. 

“There is a little story I have been wanting to tell 
you,” said he, addressing his wife, “which I think 
would interest you. It is a love-story in which I was 
concerned.” 


310 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

“Oh!” said Mrs. Crowder, looking up quickly, “a 
scholar ? ” 

“Xo,” he answered, “not this time. Early in the 
fourteenth century I was living at Avignon, in the 
south of France. At that time I was making my 
living by copying law papers. You see, I was down 
in the world again.” 

Mrs. Crowder sighed, but said nothing. 

“One Sunday morning I was in the Church of St. 
Claire, and, kneeling a little in front of me, I noticed 
a lady who did not seem to be paying the proper 
attention, to her devotions. She fidgeted uneasily, and 
every now and then she would turn her head a little 
to the right, and then bring it back quickly and turn 
it so much in my direction that I could see the profile 
of her face. She was a good-looking woman, not very 
young, and evidently nervous and disturbed. 

“Following the direction of her quick gaze when 
she again turned to the right, I saw a young man, 
apparently not twenty-five years of age, and dressed 
in sober black. He was also kneeling, but his eyes 
were steadfastly fixed upon the lady in front of me, 
and I knew, of course, that it was this continuous gaze 
which was disturbing her. I felt very much disposed 
to call the attention of a priest to this young man 
who was making one of the congregation unpleasantly 
conspicuous by staring at her j but the situation was 
brought to an end by the lady herself, who suddenly 
rose and went out of the church. She had no sooner 
passed the heavy leather curtain of the door than 
the young man got up and went out after her. In- 
terested in this affair, I also left the church, and in 
the street I saw the lady walking rapidly away, 
311 


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with the young man at a respectful distance behind 
her. 

“I followed on the other side of the street, deter- 
mined to interfere if the youth, so evidently a stranger 
to the lady, should accost her or annoy her. She 
walked steadily on, not looking behind her, and doubt- 
less hoping that she was not followed. As soon as she 
reached another church she turned and entered it. 
Without hesitation the young man went in after her, 
and then I followed. 

“As before, the lady knelt on the pavement of the 
church, and the young man, placing himself not very 
far from her, immediately began to stare at her. I 
looked around, but there was no priest near, and then 
I advanced and knelt not very far from the lady, and 
between her and her persistent admirer. It was plain 
enough that he did not like this, and he moved for- 
ward so that he might still get a view of her. Then 
I also moved so as to obstruct his view. He now fixed 
his eyes upon me, and I returned his gaze in such a 
way as to make him understand that while I was 
present he would not be allowed to annoy a lady who 
evidently wished to have nothing to do with him. 
Presently he rose and went out. It was evident that 
he saw that it was no use for him to continue his 
reprehensible conduct while I was present. 

“I do not know how the lady discovered that her 
unauthorized admirer had gone away, but she did dis- 
cover it, and she turned toward me for an instant and 
gave me what I supposed was a look of gratitude. 

“I soon left the church, and I had scarcely reached 
the street when I found that the lady had followed 
me. She looked at me as if she would like to speak, 
312 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


and I politely saluted her. ‘I thank you, kind sir,’ 
she said , i for relieving me of the importunities of that 
young man. For more than a week he has followed 
me whenever I go to church, and although he has 
never spoken to me, his steady gaze throws me into 
such an agitation that I cannot think of my prayers. 
Do you know who he is, sir ? ’ 

“I assured her that I had never seen the youth be- 
fore that morning, but that doubtless I could find out 
all about him. I told her that I was acquainted with 
several officers of the law, and that there would be no 
difficulty in preventing him from giving her any 
further annoyance. 4 Oh, don’t do that!’ she said 
quickly. ‘I would not wish to attract attention to 
myself in that way. You seem to be a kind and 
fatherly gentleman. Can you not speak to the young 
man himself and tell him who I am, and impress upon 
his mind how much he is troubling me by his incon- 
siderate action 1 ’ 

“As I did not wish to keep her standing in the 
street, we now walked on together, and she briefly 
gave me the facts of the case. 

“Her name was Madame de Sade. She had been 
happily married for two years, and never before had 
she been annoyed by impertinent attentions from any 
one ; but in some manner unaccountable to her this 
young student had been attracted by her, and had 
made her the object of his attention whenever he had 
had the opportunity. Not only had he annoyed her at 
church, but twice he had followed her when she had 
left her house on business, thus showing that he had 
been loitering about in the vicinity. She had not yet 
spoken to her husband in the matter, because she was 
313 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


afraid that some quarrel might arise. But now that 
the good angels had caused her to meet with such a 
kind-hearted old gentleman as myself, she hoped that 
I might be able to rid her of the young man without 
making any trouble. Surely this student, who seemed 
to be a respectable person, would not think of such a 
thing as fighting me.” 

“Thee must have had a very long white beard at 
that time , 77 interpolated Mrs. Crowder. 

“Yes , 77 said her husband, “I was in one of my peri- 
ods of venerable age. 

“I left Madame de Sade, promising to do what I 
could for her, and as she thanked me I could not help 
wondering why the handsome young student had made 
her the object of his attention. She was a well- 
shaped, fairly good-looking woman, with fair skin and 
large eyes ; but she was of a grave and sober cast of 
countenance, and there was nothing about her which 
indicated the least of that piquancy which would be 
likely to attract the eyes of a youth. She seemed to 
me to be exactly what she said she was— the quiet and 
respectable lady of a quiet and respectable household. 

“In the course of the afternoon I discovered the 
name and residence of the young man, with whom I 
had determined to have an interview. His name was 
Francesco Petrarca, an Italian by birth, and now en- 
gaged in pursuing his studies in this place. I called 
upon him at his lodgings, and, fortunately, found him 
at home. As I had expected, he recognized me at 
once as the elderly person who had interfered with 
him at the church ; but, as I did not expect, he greeted 
me politely, without the least show of resentment. 

“I took the seat he offered me, and proceeded to 
314 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


deliver a lecture. I laid before him the facts of the 
case, which I supposed he might not know, and urged 
him, for his own sake, as well as for that of the lady, 
to cease his annoying and, I did not hesitate to state, 
ungentlemanly pursuit of her. 

“He listened to me with respectful attention, and 
when I had finished he assured me that he knew even 
more about Madame de Sade than I did. He was per- 
fectly aware that she was a religious and highly esti- 
mable lady, and he did not desire to do anything which 
would give her a moment’s sorrow. ‘Then stop fol- 
lowing her,’ said I, ‘and give up that habit of staring 
at her in such a way as to make her the object of 
attention to everybody around her.’ ‘ That is asking 
too much,’ answered Master Petrarca. ‘That lady 
has made an impression upon my soul which cannot 
be removed. My will has no power to efface her 
image from my constant thought. If she does not 
wish me to do so, I shall never speak a word to her ; 
but I must look upon her. Even when I sleep her 
face is present in my dreams. She has aroused within 
me the spirit of poetry ; my soul will sing in praise of 
her loveliness, and I cannot prevent it. Let me read 
to you some lines,’ he said, picking up a piece of 
manuscript which was lying on the table. ‘It is in 
Italian, but I will translate it for you.’ ‘No,’ said I, 
‘read it as it is written ; I understand Italian.’ Then 
he read the opening lines of a sonnet which was 
written to ‘ Laura in the Shadow.’ He read about six 
lines and then stopped. ‘It is not finished,’ he said, 
‘ and what I have written does not altogether satisfy 
me ; but you can judge from what you have heard 
how it is that I think of that lady, and how impos- 
315 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


sible it is that I can in any way banish her from my 
mind, or willingly from my vision.’ 

“‘How did you come to know that her name is 
Laura? ’ I asked. ‘I found it out from the records of 
her marriage/ he answered. 

“I talked for some time to this young man, but 
failed to impress him with the conviction that his 
conduct was improper and unworthy of him. I found 
means to inform Madame de Sade of the result of my 
conversation with Petrarch, — as we call his name in 
English, — and she appeared to be satisfied that the 
young student would soon cease his attentions, al- 
though I myself saw no reason for such belief. 

“I visited the love-lorn young man several times, 
for I had become interested in him, and endeavored 
to make him see how foolish it was— even if he looked 
upon it in no other light— to direct his ardentaffections 
upon a lady who would never care anything about 
him, and who, even if unmarried, was not the sort of 
woman who was adapted to satisfy the lofty affection 
which his words and his verses showed him to possess. 

“‘There are so many beautiful women/ said I, ‘any 
one of whom you might love, of whom you might sing, 
and to whom you could indite your verses. She would 
return your love ; she would appreciate your poetry $ 
you would marry her and be happy all your life.’ 

“He shook his head. ‘No, no, no/ he said. ‘You 
don’t understand my nature. Marriage would mean 
the cares of a house — food, fuel, the mending of 
clothes, a family — all the hard material conditions 
of life. No, sir ! My love soars far above all that. 
If it were possible that Laura should ever be mine 
I could not love her as I do. She is apart from me ; 

316 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


she is above me. I worship her, and for her I pour 
out my soul in song. Listen to this/ and he read me 
some lines of an unfinished sonnet to 1 Laura in the 
Sunlight.’ 1 She was just coming from a shaded street 
into an open place when I saw her, and this poem 
came into my heart.’ 

“About a week after this I was very much surprised 
to see Petrarch walking with his Laura, who was 
accompanied by her husband. The three were very 
amicably conversing. I joined the party, and was 
made acquainted with Monsieur de Sade, and after 
that, from time to time, I met them together, some- 
times taking a meal with them in the evening. 

“I discovered that Laura’s husband looked upon 
Petrarch very much as any ordinary husband would 
look upon an artist who wished to paint portraits of 
his wife. 

“I lived for more than a year in Avignon with these 
good people, and I am not ashamed to say that I never 
ceased my endeavors to persuade Petrarch to give up 
his strange and abnormal attentions to a woman who 
would never be anything to him but a vision in the 
distance, and who would prevent him from living a 
true and natural life with one who would be all his 
own. But it was of no use. He went on in his own 
way, and everybody knows the results. 

“How, just think of it,” continued Mr. Crowder. 
“Suppose I had succeeded in my honest efforts to 
do good ; think of what the world would have lost. 
Suppose I had induced Petrarch not to come back to 
Avignon after his travels ; suppose he had not settled 
down at Yaucluse, and had not spent three long years 
writing sonnets to Laura while she was occupied with 
317 


THE VIZIER OF THE 

the care of her large family of children 5 suppose, in a 
word, that I had been successful in my good work, and 
that Petrarch had shut his eyes and his heart to 
Laura j suppose— 1 ” 

“I don’t choose to suppose anything of the kind,” 
said Mrs. Crowder. “Thee tried to do right, but I am 
glad thee did not deprive the world of any of Pe- 
trarch’s poetry. But now I want thee to tell us some- 
thing about ancient Egypt, and those wonderfully 
cultivated people who built pyramids and carved 
hieroglyphics. Perhaps thee saw them building the 
Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis.” 

Mr. Crowder shook his head. “That was before my 
time,” said he. 

This was like an electric shock to both of us. If we 
had been more conversant with ancient chronology we 
might have understood, but we were not so conversant. 

“Abraham! Isaac! Moses!” ejaculated Mrs. Crow- 
der. “Thee knew them all, and yet Egypt was civil- 
ized before thy time ! Does thee mean that ? ” 

“Oh, yes,” said Mr. Crowder. “I am of the time of 
Abraham, and when he was born the glories of Egypt 
were at their height.” 

“It is difficult to get these things straight in one’s 
mind,” said Mrs. Crowder. “As thee has lived so long, 
it seems a pity that thee was not born sooner.” 

“I have often thought that,” said her husband. 
“But we should all try to be content with what we 
have. And now let us skip out of those regions of the 
dusky past. I feel in the humor of telling another 
love-story, and one has just come into my mind.” 

“Thee is so fond of that sort of thing,” said his wife, 
with a smile, “that we will not interfere with thee.” 

318 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“In the summer of the year 950,” said Mr. Crowder, 
“I was travelling, and had just come over from 
France into the province of Piedmont, in northern 
Italy. I was then in fairly easy circumstances, and 
was engaged in making some botanical researches for 
a little book which I had planned to write on a medi- 
cal subject. I will explain to you later how I came 
to do a great deal of that sort of thing. 

“Late upon a warm afternoon I was entering the 
town of Ivrea, and passing a large stone building, I 
stopped to examine some leaves on a bush which grew 
by the roadside. While I was doing this, and com- 
paring the shape and size of the leaves with some 
drawings I had in a book which I took from my pocket, 
I heard a voice behind me and apparently above me. 
Some one was speaking to me, and speaking in Latin. 
I looked around and up, but could see no one ; but 
above me, about ten or twelve feet from the ground, 
there was a long, narrow slit of a window such as is 
seen in prisons. Again I heard the voice, and it said 
to me distinctly in Latin, ‘Are you free to go where 
you choose ? ’ It was the voice of a woman. 

“As I wished to understand the situation better 
before I answered, I went over to the other side of the 
road, where I could get a better view of the window. 
There I saw behind this narrow opening a part of the 
face of a woman. This stone edifice was evidently a 
prison. I approached the window, and standing under 
it, first looking from side to side to see that no one 
was coming along the road, I said in Latin, ‘ I am free 
to go where I choose.’ 

“Then the voice above said, ‘Wait !’ but it spoke 
in Italian this time. You may be sure I waited, and 
319 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


in a few minutes a little package dropped from the 
window and fell almost at my feet. I stooped and 
picked it up. It was a piece of paper, in which was 
wrapped a bit of mortar to give it weight. 

“I opened the paper and read, written in a clear 
and scholarly hand, these words : ‘ I am a most unfor- 
tunate prisoner. I believe you are an honest and true 
man, because I saw you studying plants and reading 
from a book which you carry. If you wish to do more 
good than you ever did before, come to this prison 
again after dark.’ 

“I looked up and said quickly, in Italian, ‘I shall 
be here.’ I was about to speak again and ask for some 
more definite directions, but I heard the sound of 
voices around a turn in the road, and I thought it 
better to continue my walk into the town. 

“That night, as soon as it was really dark, I was 
again at the prison. I easily found the window, for I 
had noted that it was so many paces from a corner of 
the building ; but there was no light in the narrow 
slit, and although I waited some time, I heard no 
voice. I did not dare to call, for the prisoner might 
not be alone, and I might do great mischief. 

“My eyes were accustomed to the darkness, and it 
was starlight. I walked along the side of the building, 
examining it carefully, and I soon found a little door 
in the wall. As I stood for a few moments before this 
door, it suddenly opened, and in front of me stood a 
big soldier. He wore a wide hat and a little sword, 
and evidently was not surprised to see me. I thought 
it well, however, to speak, and I said : ‘ Could you give 
a mouthful of supper to a—’ 

“He did not allow me to finish my sentence, but 
320 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


putting Ms hand upon my shoulder, said gruffly : 
‘Come in. Don’t you waste your breath talking 
about supper.’ I entered, and the door was closed 
behind me. I followed this man through a stone pas- 
sageway, and he took me to a little stone room. 
‘Wait here !’ he said, and he shut me in. I was in 
pitch-darkness, and had no idea what was going to 
happen next. After a little time I saw a streak of 
light coming through a keyhole ; then an inner door 
opened, and a young woman with a lamp came into 
the room.” 

“Now does the love-story begin 1 ?” asked his wife. 

“Not yet,” said Mr. Crowder. “The young woman 
looked at me, and I looked at her. She was a pretty 
girl with black eyes. I did not express my opinion of 
her, but she was not so reticent. ‘You look like a 
good old man,’ she said. ‘ I think you may be trusted. 
Come ! ’ Her speech was provincial, and she was 
plainly a servant. I followed her. ‘Now for the mis- 
tress,’ said I to myself.” 

“Thee may have looked like an old man,” remarked 
Mrs. Crowder, “but thee did not think like one.” 

Her husband laughed. “I mounted some stone 
steps, and was soon shown into a room where stood a 
lady waiting for me. As the light of the lamp carried 
by the maid fell upon her face, I thought I had never 
seen a more beautiful woman. Her dress, her car- 
riage, and her speech showed her to be a lady of rank. 
She was very young, scarcely twenty, I thought. 

“This lady immediately began to ask me questions. 
She had perceived that I was a stranger, and she 
wanted to know where I came from, what was my 
business, and as much as I could tell her of myself. 

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THE VIZIER OF THE 


‘I knew yon were a scholar/ she said, “because of 
your book, and I believe in scholars.’ Then briefly 
she told me her story and what she wanted of me. 

“She was the young Queen Adelheid, the widow of 
King Lothar, who had recently died, and she was then 
suffering a series of harsh persecutions from the pres- 
ent king, Berengar II, who in this way was endeavor- 
ing to force her to marry his son Adalbert. She hated 
this young man, and positively refused to have any- 
thing to do with him. 

“This charming and royal young widow was bright, 
intelligent, and had a mind of her own ; it was easy to 
see that. She had formed a scheme for her deliver- 
ance, and she had been waiting to find some one to 
help her carry it out. Kow, she thought I was the 
man she had been looking for. I was elderly, ap- 
parently respectable, and she had to trust somebody. 

“This was her scheme. She was well aware that 
unless some powerful friend interfered in her behalf 
she would be obliged to marry Adalbert, or remain in 
prison for the rest of her life, which would probably 
be unduly shortened. Therefore she had made up her 
mind to appeal to the court of the Emperor Otto I of 
Germany, and she wanted me to carry a letter to him. 

“I stood silent, earnestly considering this proposi- 
tion, and as I did so she gazed at me as if her whole 
happiness in this world depended upon my decision. 
I was not long in making up my mind on the subject. 
I told her I was willing to help her, and would 
undertake to carry a letter to the emperor, and I did 
not doubt, from what I had heard of this noble prince, 
that he would come to her deliverance. But I further- 
more assured her that the moment it became known 
322 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


that the emperor was about to interfere in her behalf, 
she would be in a position of great danger, and would 
probably disappear from human sight before relief 
could reach her. In that prison she was utterly help- 
less, and to appeal for help would be to bring down 
vengeance upon herself. The first thing to do, there- 
fore, was to escape from this prison, and get to some 
place where, for a time at least, she could defend 
herself against Berengar, while waiting for Otto to 
take her under his protection. 

“She saw the force of my remarks, and we discussed 
the matter for half an hour, and when I left— being 
warned by the soldier on guard, who was in love with 
the queen’s black-eyed maid, that it was time for me 
to depart— it was arranged that I should return the 
next night and confer with the fair Adelheid. 

“There were several conferences, and the unfaithful 
sentinel grumbled a good deal. I cannot speak of all 
the plans and projects which we discussed, but at last 
one of them was carried out. One dark, rainy night 
Adelheid changed clothes with her maid, actually 
deceived the guard — not the fellow who had admitted 
me— with a story that she had been sent in great haste 
to get some medicine for her royal mistress, and joined 
me outside the prison. 

“There we mounted horses I had in readiness, and 
rode away from Ivrea. We were bound for the castle 
of Canossa, a stronghold of considerable importance, 
where my royal companion believed she could find 
refuge, at least for a time. I cannot tell you of all 
the adventures we had upon that difficult journey. 
We were pursued ; we were almost captured ; we met 
with obstacles of various kinds which sometimes 
323 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


seemed insurmountable ; but at last we saw the walls 
of Canossa rising before us, and we were safe. 

“Adelheid was very grateful for what I had done, 
and as she had now learned to place full reliance upon 
me, she insisted that I should be the bearer of a letter 
from her to the Emperor Otto. I should not travel 
alone, but be accompanied by a sufficient retinue of 
soldiers and attendants, and should go as her am- 
bassador. 

a The journey was a long and a slow one, but I was 
rather glad of it, for it gave me an opportunity to 
ponder over the most ambitious scheme I have ever 
formed in the whole course of my life.” 

“ Greater than to be autocrat of all the Russias?” 
exclaimed Mrs. Crowder. 

“Yes,” he replied. “That opportunity came to me 
suddenly, and I accepted it ; I did not plan it out 
and work for it. Besides, it could be only a transi- 
tory thing. But what now occupied me was a grand 
idea, the good effects of which, if it should be carried 
out, might endure for centuries. It was simply 
this : 

“I had become greatly attached to the young queen 
widow whose cause I had espoused. I had spent more 
than a month with her in the castle at Canossa, and 
there I learned to know her well and to love her. 
She was, indeed, a most admirable woman and charm- 
ing in every way. She appeared to place the most 
implicit trust in me— told- me of all her affairs, and 
asked my opinion about almost everything she pro- 
posed to do. In a word, I was in love with her and 
wanted to marry her.” 

“Thee certainly had lofty notions. But don’t think 
324 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

I object,” said Mrs. Crowder. “It is Chinese and 
Tartars I don’t like.” 

“It might seem at first sight,” he continued, “that I 
was aiming above me, but the more I reflected the 
more firmly I believed that it would be very good for 
the lady, as well as for me. In the first place, she had 
no reason to expect a matrimonial union worthy of 
her. Adalbert she had every reason to despise, and 
there was no one else belonging to the riotous aristo- 
cratic factions of Italy who could make her happy or 
give her a suitable position. In all her native land 
there was not a prince to whom she would not have to 
stoop in order to marry him. 

“But to me she need not stoop. No man on earth 
possessed a more noble lineage. I was of the house of 
Shem, a royal priest after the order of Melchizedek, 
and King of Salem ! No line of imperial ancestry 
could claim precedence of that.” 

Mrs. Crowder looked with almost reverent awe into 
the face of her husband. “And that is the blood,” she 
said, “which flows in the veins of our child?” 

“Yes,” said he, “that is the blood.” 

After a slight pause Mr. Crowder continued : “I will 
now go on with my tale of ambition. A grand career 
would open before me. I would lay all my plans and 
hopes before the Emperor Otto, who would naturally 
be inclined to assist the unfortunate widow ; but he 
would be still more willing to do so when I told him 
of the future which might await her if my plans should 
be carried out. As he was then engaged in working 
with a noble ambition for the benefit of his own 
dominions, he would doubtless be willing to do some- 
thing for the good of lands beyond his boundaries. It 
325 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


ought not to be difficult to convince him that there 
could be no wiser, no nobler way of championing the 
cause of Adelheid than by enabling me to perform the 
work I had planned. 

“All that would be necessary for him to do would 
be to furnish me with a moderate military force. 
With this I would march to Canossa ; there I would 
espouse Adelheid ; then I would proceed to Ivrea, 
would dethrone the wicked Berengar, would proclaim 
Adelheid queen in his place, with myself as king con- 
sort 5 then, with the assistance and backing of the im- 
perial German, I would no doubt soon be able to 
maintain my royal pretensions. Once self-supporting, 
and relying upon our Italian subjects for our army and 
finances, I would boldly reestablish the great kingdom 
of Lombardy, to which Charlemagne had put an end 
nearly two hundred years before. Then would begin 
a grand system of reforms and national progress. 

“Pavia should be my capital, but the beneficent 
influence of my rule should move southward. I would 
make an alliance with the Pope ; I would crush and 
destroy the factions which were shaking the founda- 
tions of church and state ; I would still further extend 
my power— I would become the imperial ruler of 
Italy, with Adelheid as my queen ! 

“Over and over again I worked out and arranged 
this grand scheme, and when I reached the court of 
the Emperor Otto it was all as plain in my mind as if 
it had been copied on parchment. 

“I was very well received by the emperor, and he 
read with great interest and concern the letter I had 
brought him. He gave me several private audiences, 
and asked me many questions about the fair young 
326 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


widow who had met with so many persecutions and 
misfortunes. This interest greatly pleased me, but I 
did not immediately submit to him my plan for the 
relief of Adelheid and the great good of the Italian 
nation. I would wait a little ; I must make him better 
acquainted with myself. But the imperial Otto did 
not wait. On the third day after my arrival I was 
called into his cabinet and informed that he intended 
to set out himself at the head of an army ; that he 
should relieve the unfortunate lady from her persecu- 
tions, and establish her in her rights, whatever they 
might prove to be. His enthusiastic manner in speak- 
ing of his intentions assured me that I need not trouble 
myself to say one word about my plans. 

“Now,— would you believe it?— that intermeddling 
monarch took out of my hands the whole grand, am- 
bitious scheme I had so carefully devised. He went 
to Canossa ; he married Adelheid ; he marched upon 
Berengar $ he subjugated him and made him his vassal $ 
he formed an alliance with Pope John XII ; he was 
proclaimed King of the Lombards ; he was crowned 
with his queen in St. Peter’s ; he eventually acquired 
the southern portion of Italy. All this was exactly 
what I had intended to do.” 

Mrs. Crowder laughed. “In one way thee was 
served quite right, for thee made all thy plans with- 
out ever asking the beautiful young ex-queen whether 
she would have thee or not.” 

In the tones of this fair lady’s voice there were 
evident indications of mental relief. “And what did 
thee do then?” she asked. “I hope thee got some 
reward for all thy faithful exertions.” 

“I received nothing at the time,” Mr. Crowder re- 
327 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


plied. “I did not care to accompany the emperor 
into Italy, for probably I would be recognized as 
the man who had assisted Adelheid to escape from 
the prison at Ivrea, and as I was not at all sure that 
the emperor would remember that I needed pro- 
tection, I thought it well to protect myself, and so I 
journeyed back into France as well as I could. 

“This was not very well ; for in purchasing the 
necessary fine clothes which I deemed it proper to 
wear in the presence of the royal lady whose interests 
I had in charge, in buying horses, and in many inci- 
dental expenses, I had spent my money. I was too 
proud to ask Otto to reimburse me, for that would 
have been nothing but charity on his part $ and of 
course I could not expect the fair Adelheid to think 
of my possible financial needs. So, away I went, a 
poor wanderer on foot, and the imperial Otto rode 
forward to love, honor, and success.” 

“A dreadful shame ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Crowder. “It 
seems as if thee always carried a horn about with thee 
so that thee might creep out of the little end of it.” 

“But my adventures with Adelheid did not end 
here,” he said. “About fifty years after this she was 
queen regent in Italy, during the infancy of her grand- 
child Otto III. Being in Eome, and very poor, I de- 
termined to go to her, not to seek for charity, but to 
recall myself to her notice, and to ask boldly to be 
reimbursed for my expenses when assisting her to 
escape from Ivrea, and in afterwards going as her am- 
bassador to Otto I. In other words, I wanted to pre- 
sent my bill for enabling her to take her seat upon the 
throne of the ‘Holy Roman Empire of the German 
Nation.’ 


328 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“As a proof that I was the man I assumed to be, I 
took with me a ring of no great value, but set with 
her royal seal, which she had given me when she sent 
me to Otto. 

“Well, I will not spend much time on this part of 
the story. By means of the ring I was accorded an 
interview with the regent. She was then an old 
woman over seventy years of age. When I introduced 
myself to her and told her my errand, she became very 
angry. ‘ I remember very well,’ she said, ‘ the person 
you speak of, and he is long since dead. He was an 
old man when I took him into my service. You may 
be his son or some one else who has heard how he was 
employed by me. At any rate, you are an impostor. 
How did you come into possession of this ring? The 
man to whom I gave it had no right to keep it. He 
should have returned it to me when he had performed 
his duties.’ 

“I tried to convince her that there was no reason to 
suppose that the man who had assisted her could not 
be living at this day. He need only be about one 
hundred years old, and that age was not uncommon. 
I affirmed most earnestly that the ring had never been 
out of my possession, and that I should not have come 
to her if I had not believed that she would remember 
my services, and be at least willing to make good 
the considerable sums I had expended in her be- 
half. 

“Xow she arose in royal wrath. ‘How dare you 
speak to me in that way!’ she said. ‘You are a 
younger man at this moment than that old stranger 
you represent yourself to be.’ Then she called her 
guards and had me sent to prison as a cheat and an 
329 


THE VIZIER OF ALEXANDER 


impostor. I remained in prison for some time, but as 
no definite charge was made against me, I was not 
brought to trial, and after a time was released to make 
room for somebody else. I got away as soon as I could, 
and thus ended my most ambitious dream.” 


330 


VII 

“Now, my dear,” said Mr. Crowder, regarding his wife 
with a tender kindness which I had frequently noticed 
in him, “just for a change, I know you would like to 
hear of a career of prosperity, wouldn’t you ? ” 

“Indeed, I would ! ” said Mrs. Crowder. 

“You will have noticed,” said her husband, “that 
there has been a great deal of variety in my voca- 
tions ; in fact, I have not mentioned a quarter of the 
different trades and callings in which I have been en- 
gaged. It was sometimes desirable and often abso- 
lutely necessary for me to change my method of 
making a living $ but during one epoch of my life I 
steadily devoted myself to a single profession. For 
nearly four hundred years I was engaged almost con- 
tinuously in the practice of medicine. I found it 
easier for me, as a doctor, to change my place of resi- 
dence, and to appear in a new country with as much 
property as I could carry about with me, than if I had 
done so in any other way. A prosperous and elderly 
man coming as a stranger from a far country would, 
under ordinary circumstances, be regarded with sus- 
picion unless he were able to give some account of his 
previous career. But a doctor from a far country was 
always welcome $ if he could cure people of their ail- 
331 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


ments they did not ask anything about the former 
circumstances of his life. It was perfectly natural for 
a learned man to travel.” 

“Did thee regularly study and go to college 1 ” asked 
Mrs. Crowder, “or was thee a quack?” 

“Oh, I studied,” said her husband, smiling, “and 
under the best masters. I had always a fancy for that 
sort of thing, and in the days of the patriarchs, when 
there were no regular doctors, I was often called upon, 
as I told you.” 

“Oh, yes,” said his wife, “thee rubbed Joshua with 
gravel and pepper.” 

“And cured him,” said he. “You ought not to 
omit that. But it was not until about the fifth cen- 
tury before Christ that I thought of really studying 
medicine. I was in the island of Cos, where I had 
gone for a very queer reason. The great painter 
Apelles lived there, and I went for the purpose of 
studying art under him. I was tired of most of the 
things I had been doing, and I thought it would be a 
good idea to become a painter. Apelles gave me no 
encouragement when I applied to him ; he told me I 
was entirely too old to become a pupil. 1 By the time 
you would really know how to paint/ said he, ‘ sup- 
posing you have any talent for it, you ought to be 
beginning to arrange your affairs to get ready to die.’ 
Of course this admonition had no effect upon me, and 
I kept on with my drawing lessons. If I could not 
become a painter of eminence, I thought that at least 
I might be able, if I understood drawing, to become 
a better schoolmaster— if I should take up that pro- 
fession again. 

“One day Apelles said to me, after glancing at the 
332 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 

drawing on which I was engaged : ‘ If you were ten 
years younger you might do something in the field of 
art, for you would make an excellent model for the 
picture I am about to begin. But at your present age 
you would not be able to sustain the fatigue of re- 
maining in a constrained position for any length of 
time.’ ‘ What is the subject ? ’ I asked. ‘ A centurion 
in battle/ said he. 

“The next day I appeared before Apelles with my 
hair cropped short and my face without a vestige of a 
beard. ‘Do I look young enough now to be your 
model ? ’ said I. The painter looked at me in surprise. 
‘Yes/ said he, ‘you look young enough $ but of course 
you are the same age as you were yesterday. How- 
ever, if you would like to try the model business, I 
will make some sketches of you.’ 

“For more than a month, nearly every day, I stood 
as a model .to Apelles for his great picture of a cen- 
turion whose sword had been stricken from his hand, 
and who, in desperation, was preparing to defend 
himself against his enemy with the arms which nature 
had given him.” 

“Is that picture extant?” I asked. 

Mr. Crowder smiled. “None of Apelles’s paintings 
are in existence now,” he answered. “While I was 
acting as model to Apelles— and I may remark that I 
never grew tired of standing in the position he de- 
sired— I listened with great satisfaction to the con- 
versations between him and the friends who called 
upon him while he was at work. The chief of these 
was Hippocrates, the celebrated physician, between 
whom and Apelles a strong friendship existed. 

“Hippocrates was a man of great common sense. He 
333 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


did not believe that diseases were caused by spirits 
and demons and all that sort of thing, and in many 
ways he made himself very interesting to me. So, in 
course of time, after having visited him a good deal, I 
made up my mind to quit the study of art and go into 
that of medicine. 

“I got on very well, and after a time I practised 
with him in many cases, and he must have had a good 
deal of confidence in me, for when the King of Persia 
sent for him to come to his court, offering him all sorts 
of munificent rewards, Hippocrates declined, but he 
suggested to me that I should go. 

“ ‘ You look like a doctor,’ said he. ‘ The king would 
have confidence in you simply on account of your 
presence; and, besides, you do know a great deal 
about medicine.’ But I did not go to Persia, and 
shortly after that I left the island of Cos and gave up 
the practice of medicine. Later, in the second cen- 
tury before Christ, I made the acquaintance of a 
methodist doctor—” 

“A what?” Mrs. Crowder and I exclaimed at the 
same moment. 

He laughed. “I thought that would surprise you, 
but it is true.” 

“Of course it is true,” said his wife, coloring a little. 
“Does thee think I would doubt anything thee told 
me? If thee had said that Abraham had a Quaker 
cook, I would have believed it.” 

“And if I had told you that,” said Mr. Crowder, “it 
would have been so. But to explain about this 
methodist doctor. In those days the physicians were 
divided into three schools : empirics, dogmatists, and 
methodists. This man I speak of — Asclepiades — was 
334 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


the leading methodist physician, depending, as the 
name suggests, upon regular methods of treatment 
instead of experiments and theories adapted to the 
particular case in hand. 

“He also was a man of great good sense, and was 
very witty besides. He made a good deal of fun of 
other physicians, and used to call the system of Hip- 
pocrates * meditation on death.’ I studied with him 
for some time, but it was not until the first century of 
the present era that I really began the practice of my 
profession. Then I made the acquaintance of the great 
Galen. He was a man who was not only a physician, 
but an accomplished surgeon, and this could be said of 
very few people in that age of the world. I studied 
anatomy and surgery under him, and afterwards prac- 
tised with him as I had done with Hippocrates. 

“The study of anatomy was rather difficult in those 
days, because the Roman laws forbade the dissection 
of citizens, and the anatomists had to depend for their 
knowledge of the human frame upon their examina- 
tions of the bodies of enemies killed in battle, or those 
of slaves in whom no one took an interest, but most of 
all upon the bodies of apes. Great numbers of these 
beasts were brought from Africa solely for the use of 
the Roman surgeons, and in that connection I remem- 
ber an incident which was rather curious. 

“I had not finished my studies under Galen when 
that great master one day informed me that a trader 
had brought him an ape, which had been confined in a 
small building near his house. He asked me to go out 
and kill it and have it brought into his dissecting-room, 
where he was to deliver a lecture to some students. 

“I started for the building referred to. On the way 
335 


THE VIZIER OF THE 


I was met by the trader. He was a vile-looking man, 
with black, matted hair and little eyes, who did not 
look much higher in intelligence than the brutes he 
dealt in. He grinned diabolically as he led me to the 
little house and opened the door. I looked in. There 
was no ape there, but in one corner sat a dark-brown 
African girl. I looked at the man in surprise. ‘The 
ape I was to bring got away from me/ he said, ‘but 
that thing will do a great deal better, and I will not 
charge any more for it than for the ape. Kill it, and 
we will put it into a bag and carry it to the doctor. 
He will be glad to see what we have brought him in- 
stead of an ape.’ 

“I angrily ordered the man to leave the place, and 
taking the girl by the arm,— although I had a good 
deal of trouble in catching her, — I led her to Galen 
and told him the story.” 

“What became of the poor thing?” asked Mrs. 
Crowder. 

“Galen bought her from the man at the price of an 
ape, and tried to have her educated as a servant, but 
she was a wild creature and could not be taught much. 
In some way or other the people in charge of the am- 
phitheatre got possession of her, and I heard that she 
was to figure in the games at an approaching great 
occasion. I was shocked and grieved to hear this, for 
I had taken an interest in the girl, and I knew what 
it meant for her to take part in the games in the 
arena. I tried to buy her, but it was of no use : she 
was wanted for a particular purpose. On the day she 
was to appear in the arena I was there.” 

“I don’t see how thee could do it,” said Mrs. Crow- 
der, her face quite pale. 


336 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


“People’s sensibilities were different in those days,” 
said her husband. “I don’t suppose I could do such a 
thing now. After a time she was brought out and left 
entirely alone in the middle of the great space. She 
was nearly frightened to death by the people and the 
fear of some unknown terror. Trembling from head 
to foot, she looked from side to side, and at last sank 
crouching on the ground. Everybody was quiet, for 
it was not known what was to happen next. Then a 
grating sound was heard, with the clank of an iron 
door, and a large brown bear appeared in the arena. 
The crouching African fixed her eyes upon him, but 
did not move. 

“The idea of a combat between this tender girl and 
a savage bear could not be entertained. What was 
about to occur seemed simply a piece of brutal car- 
nage, with nothing to make it interesting. A great 
many people expressed their dissatisfaction. The 
hard-hearted populace, even if they did not care about 
fair play in their games, did desire some element of 
chance which would give flavor to the cruelty. But 
here was nothing of the sort. It would have been as 
well to feed the beast with a sheep. 

“The bear, however, seemed to look upon the per- 
formance as one which would prove very satisfactory. 
He was hungry, not having had anything to eat for 
several days, and here was an appetizing young person 
waiting for him to devour her. 

“He had fixed his eyes upon her the moment he ap- 
peared, and had paid no attention whatever to the 
crowds by which he was surrounded. He gave a slight 
growl, the hair on his neck stood up, and he made a 
quick movement toward the girl. But she did not 
337 


THE VIZIER OF THE 

wait for liim. Springing to her feet, she fled, the bear 
after her. 

“Now followed one of the most exciting chases ever 
known in the history of the Roman amphitheatre. 
That frightened girl, as swift as a deer, ran around 
and around the vast space, followed closely by her 
savage pursuer. But although he was active and 
powerful and unusually swift for a bear, he could not 
catch her. 

“Around and around she went, and around went the 
red-eyed beast behind her ; but he could not gain upon 
her, and she gave no sign that her strength was giving 
out. 

“Now the audience began to perceive that a contest 
was really going on : it was a contest of speed and en- 
durance ; and the longer the girl ran the more inclined 
the people were to take her part. At last there was 
a great shout that she should be allowed to escape. A 
little door was opened in the side of the amphitheatre ; 
she shot through it, and it was closed almost in the 
face of the panting and furious bear.” 

“What became of the poor girl?” exclaimed Mrs. 
Crowder. 

“A sculptor bought her,” said Mr. Crowder. “He 
wanted to use her as a model for a statue of the swift 
Diana; but this never came to anything. The girl 
could not be made to stand still for a moment. She 
was in a chronic condition of being frightened to 
death. After that I heard of her no more ; it was easy 
for people to disappear in Rome. But this incident 
in the arena was remembered and talked about for 
many years afterwards. The fact that a girl was pos- 
sessed of such extraordinary swiftness that she would 
338 


TWO-HORNED ALEXANDER 


have been able to escape from a wild beast by m ai 
of her speed alone, had she been in an open plain, tv 
considered one of the most interesting natural wonders 
which had been brought to the notice of the Eoman 
people by the sports in the arena.” 

“ Fortunately,” said Mrs. Crowder, “thee did not—” 

“No,” said her husband, “I did not. I required 
more than speed in a case like that. And now I 
think,” said he, rising, “we must call this session con- 
cluded.” 

The next day I was obliged to bid farewell to the 
Crowders, and my business arrangements made it im- 
probable that I should see them again for a long time 
—I could not say how long. As I bade Mr. Crowder 
farewell and stood holding his hand in mine, he smiled, 
and said : “That’s right ; look hard at me, study 
every line in my face, and then when you see me again 
you will be better able—” 

“Not a bit,” said Mrs. Crowder. “He is just as able 
to judge now as he will be if he stays away for twenty 
years.” 

I believed her, as I warmly shook her hand, and I 
believe that I shall always continue to believe her. 


339 



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